Ou Lydia Liu is a principal research director in charge of three ETS research centers: the Center for Education and Career Development, the Center for Language Education and Assessment Research, and the Center for K12 Teaching, Learning, and Assessment. The three research centers support ETS products such as the GRE®, TOEFL®, TOEIC®, and PRAXIS® assessments and are responsible for foundational research in language assessment and learning; K–12 teaching, learning, and assessment; and higher education and workforce assessment and training. Liu is an internationally recognized expert in assessment and research of critical competencies in higher education. She has also managed several million-dollar grants awarded by the National Science Foundation and other funding agencies in the United States, India, China, and Korea.
Liu has authored and coauthored more than 90 peer-reviewed journal articles, research reports, and book chapters in the fields of applied measurement, higher education, and science assessment. Her research appeared in Science, Educational Researcher, and other influential outlets. She delivered more than 100 peer-reviewed conference presentations and invited seminars. Liu received the 2019 Robert Linn Memorial Lecture Award and the 2011 National Council on Measurement in Education Jason Millman Promising Measurement Scholar Award in recognition of her original and extensive research in learning outcomes assessment in higher education and K–12 science assessment. Liu holds a doctorate in quantitative methods and evaluation from the University of California, Berkeley.