Leigh Burstein died of heart failure on July 7, 1994 while jogging in Annapolis, Maryland where he was attending an international conference. He was 46 years old. His sudden death came as a shock to all who knew him because, up until that time, Leigh was his usual vibrant, energetic, vigorous, and cheerful self.
Leigh spent his childhood in Indianola and Meridian, Mississippi. He graduated from Michigan State University in 1969 with a B.S. in mathematics, and went on to Stanford University, completing an M.S. in statistics in 1971 and a Ph.D. in educational measurement and statistics in 1975. While completing his doctoral dissertation, he spent two years as an assistant professor in educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin, already demonstrating his capability to successfully manage and complete many activities simultaneously.
Leigh joined the faculty of the Graduate School of Education in 1975, where he was a major scholarly leader of the Center for the Study of Evaluation (CSE) and the national Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing (CRESST) headquartered at UCLA. He was a Fulbright Scholar and a Spencer Foundation Fellow. Leigh specialized in research methodology, applied statistics, data analysis, and educational measurement, evaluation and related policy. He was the author or co-author of eight books and scores of scholarly articles and monographs, and was renowned for his meticulous research. Perhaps he is best known for his seminal contributions to the field of multilevel statistical analysis which encourages researchers assessing educational systems to examine not only test scores of individual students, but also data relating to classrooms, instructional methods, and the demographics of schools and school districts. Among his major publications were chapters on analyzing multilevel education data in the Review of Educational Research, and the International Encyclopedia of Educational Research, and on the measurement of teaching in the Third Handbook for Research on Teaching.
Leigh was an internationally recognized expert on student testing. He was one of a select group of scholars who insisted that assessments of educational progress must include a picture of the entire learning environment, including students' opportunity to learn. Providing expertise to state and federal government groups and agencies, Leigh served as a consultant to the California Department of Education on the development the new California Learning Assessment System (CLAS) and its predecessor test, the California Assessment Program (CAP), the U.S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, and the Center for Disease Control, where he served as a member of the national HIV-AIDS Education Evaluation Project. He was a member of a Congressionally sanctioned panel on education indicators. As well, he spent considerable time consulting for the National Center for Educational Statistics, particularly on their international efforts, their reporting strategies, their procedures for setting achievement levels, and overall issues of data quality.
Leigh's research on student testing and students' opportunity to learn spanned national and international boundaries. As an active researcher and consultant for the RAND Corporation, Leigh co-authored a book for the Santa-Monica-based think tank in 1990 entitled Discovering What Schools Really Teach: Designing Improved Coursework Indicators. He played a prominent role in a series of international studies to assess worldwide progress in teaching math and science. In his 1993 book, The Second International Mathematics Study: Student Growth and Classroom Processes, Leigh warned against ranking countries based on student achievement -- the sort of "cognitive Olympics" that has become popular in recent years -- because such measurements ignore many factors that contribute to classroom learning and student success.
As part of his commitment to high-quality research outside and inside the University, Leigh contributed his energy to a vast array of professional activities. He was on the board of directors of the National Council on Measurement in Education, past editor of the Journal of Educational Measurement, past program chair of the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), chair of AERA's Cattell Early Career Award Committee, and chair of AERA's E.F. Lindquist Award Committee. He chaired both the UCLA Academic Senate Committee on Research and the University of California's Committee on Research Policy.
Leigh epitomized the involved and concerned faculty member, colleague and mentor. He was the school's most active prodder, its most vocal supporter, and its most loyal advocate. Leigh was dedicated to students and to junior faculty. He helped them develop a high degree of intellectual rigor, but he was equally committed to instilling in them a confidence in their own capabilities, and an enthusiasm and optimism about the future. He was equally helpful to those he knew well and to complete strangers. His friendships and collaborations spanned continents and academic status.
Leigh was devoted to his family and was fully involved in the lives of his wife and his children. He took his family abroad on sabbaticals, traveled with them on professional trips and vacations, and kept busy in their day-to-day activities. Leigh cut many days short to coach his children's soccer and baseball teams, or to take his children to gymnastics or music practice. He is survived by his parents, Marion and Martin Burstein, his two sisters, Sue Preis and Sherrie Goodman; his father-in-law, Morris Davis; his wife, Nancy; his daughter, Cari; and his two sons, Scott and Michael.
Leigh contributed fully to the life of the university, the profession, his community and his family. He reminded us all, by example and exhortation, what it really means to be a member of the academy. Leigh was a giant intellect, a powerful advocate, a caring colleague, and most of all, a true friend. While the loss of Leigh is absolutely incalculable, we miss above all his wit, his sparkle, and his affection.
Marvin C. Alkin
Eva L. Baker
Noreen M. Webb
pbe, 5Feb97