Dorothy Adkins

Dorothy Christina Adkins (April 6, 1912, Atlanta, Ohio – December 19, 1975, Plain City, Ohio) was an American psychologist. Adkins is best known for her work in psychometrics and education testing, particularly in achievement testing. She was the first female president of the Psychometric Society and served in several roles in the American Psychological Association.

Adkins was born on April 6, 1912 in Atlanta, a town in Pickaway County, Ohio. Adkins father, George Hoadley Adkins, worked as a businessman as well as a farmer and her mother, Peal F. James-Adkins worked as a teacher at a local school. Dorothy was the couple’s third child. She attended public school in Atlanta, until graduation in 1927. Growing up in Atlanta, Ohio, Adkins developed a love of music, which lead her to later study violin at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. After only one year at the Conservatory, she quit to pursue a degree in mathematics from Ohio State University. Her interest in mathematics quickly drew her to statistics and psychometrics, and she took up psychology.

Adkins attended public schools until her graduation in 1927. Adkins attended Ohio State University for both her Bachelors of Science degree (1931) and PhD (1937) in mathematics and psychology. Her PhD was completed under the advisement of Herbert Toops. Toops was a student of Edward Lee Thorndike for psychology and Truman Kelly for statistics. Adkins competed her PhD in 1937 under the title “A Comparative Study of Methods of Selecting Test Items”. While completing her PhD Adkins began working as a psychometrics assistant examiner under Louis Leon Thurstone at the University of Chicago. Upon completion of her PhD she was eventually promoted to research associate in 1938. During her time at the University of Chicago she was exposed to test development.

Adkins time as a psychometrics assistant examiner at the University of Chicago and research experience made her a desirable job candidate upon her graduation. In 1940 she was offered a position with the United States government, working as an assistant chief of Research and Test Development for the United States Social Security Board in Washington, D.C. She would later be promoted to the chief of this department. Adkins also worked as Chief of Social Sciences and Administrative Testing and the Chief of Test Development for the U.S. Civil Service Commission while in D.C. from 1940 to 1948. During this time, she received special assignments from the government to the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Georgia, and Thailand. It would be almost a decade before Adkins returned to academia.

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