Leadership Team

Dr. John Poggio

Dr. John Poggio has served as Co-Director and Assessment Program Director for CAL since the founding of the company. He has also served as Co-Director of the Center for Educational Testing and Evaluation (CETE) since 1984 and as Director of Development for the Kansas Testing Programs since 1979. In addition to his extensive work with the Kansas Computerized Assessments, Dr. Poggio has worked on computerized testing projects for the States of Alaska, Idaho, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.

Dr. Poggio has vast experience in educational assessment in a broad range of assessments and has written numerous books, chapters, monographs, and tests. Dr. Poggio chaired the Department of Educational Psychology and Research at the University of Kansas, where he has been a professor for 36 years.

Dr. Poggio is a member of the American Educational Research Association, National Council for Measurement in Education, the American Evaluation Association, and the Educational Statistician’s Special Interest Group. He holds a Ph.D. and M.Ed. in Educational Research and a B.A. in Psychology.

Dr. Doug Glasnapp

Dr. Douglas Glasnapp serves as Co-Director and Research Professor for CAL. For over 20 years, he has also served as Co-Director and Research Professor for the Center for Educational Testing and Evaluation (CETE) at the University of Kansas. His responsibilities at CAL and CETE include the creation and maintenance of day-to-day quality control and audit systems to ensure accuracy of test forms, item banks, and captured data for computerized testing.

Dr. Glasnapp has extensive experience with educational assessments, having co-created versions of tests in reading, writing, mathematics, science, and social studies for general education ELL and special education populations. He also contributed to several computerized tests for Kansas and has written and presented numerous times on quantitative-related testing and modeling topics. Other computerized assessment experience includes the Alaska Computerized Formative Assessments, the Idaho Standards Achievement Test, the Oklahoma School Testing Program, and the South Carolina Palmetto Achievement Challenge Tests.

Dr. Glasnapp has been a professor at the University of Kansas for 36 years. He is a member of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the National Council of Measurement in Education (NCME). Dr. Glasnapp also served as Educational Statistician for the AERA Special Interest Group. He earned a Ph.D. and M.A. in Psychology, Quantitative Methods, from George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, Tennessee, and a B.S. degree in Mathematics Education from Morningside College, Sioux City, Iowa.

Abel Leon

Mr. Abel Leon, Director of Technology and one of the founders of the company, provides oversight to all applications development. Mr. Leon served as senior architect and software developer for seven years for Advanced Learning Technologies (ALTEC), at the University of Kansas. In this position Mr. Leon became the principal architect designing and developing the first Kansas and CAL Computerized Assessment System.

Under Mr. Leon's leadership, CAL's online delivery system has become one of the most up-to-date online computerized assessment platforms available in the country today. This robust, scalable, and reliable online system has been successfully used for the last six years for summative, formative, and pilot testing in the states of Kansas, Idaho, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Nebraska, and Alaska. Millions of tests flawlessly delivered every year are firm testimony of the capacity of the CAL online testing system designed and managed by Mr. Leon.

Through his experience, Mr. Leon has developed a clear understanding of the challenges faced by school districts in their process of implementing a full scale online testing program. He understands the unique technology infrastructure needs, network infrastructure and bandwidth constraints, and technology staff limitations common in school environments across the country. And in his role Mr. Leon has led CAL to develop an online assessments system capable of delivering an unparalleled performance and standardized testing experience for all students regardless of the computer and bandwidth limitations at the local schools.

Mr. Leon earned a Master's degree in Computer Science from the University of Kansas in Lawrence and a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from the Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, Mexico.

Kalyana Koka

Mr. Kalyana Koka is the senior IT/Technology Applications Manager and a managing director for CAL. Mr. Koka has extensive experience as a software developer, consultant, and research associate. He is proficient in applying best software practices, object-oriented methodologies, and design patterns. His technical expertise will ensure the proper technical quality and support for CAL's software.

Kalyana serves as one of CAL’s key software developers in the full-cycle software development of critical, standardized computer adaptive tests for large-scale, statewide assessment programs. In his work with CAL, along with his position at the University of Kansas' Advanced Learning Technologies project (ALTEC), he has designed large-scale distributed systems that effectively address high performance, availability, and scalability.

Kalyana earned a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Kansas in Lawrence and a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in Hyderabad, India.