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Cristina R. Chen

Cristina R. Chen, Ph. D.

Assistant Professor, Special Education/Educational Diagnostician Program

Email: cristinachen@uttyler.edu
Building:   BEP 212C
Department: Special Education

Degrees

  • Ph.D. Special Education (Mild/Moderate Disabilities), University of North Texas
  • M.Ed. Exceptional Student Education, University of South Florida
  • B.A. Special Education (Specific Learning Disabilities), University of South Florida

Certifications and Credentials

  • Registered Professional Educational Diagnostician (RPED)
  • Nationally Certified Educational Diagnostician (NCED)
  • Texas State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC)
  • Superintendent (EC–12)
  • Principal (EC–12)
  • Educational Diagnostician (PK–12)
  • Bilingual Generalist – Spanish (EC–4)
  • Generalist (EC–4)
  • Generic Special Education (PK–12)

Biography

Dr. Cristina R. Chen is an Assistant Professor in the School of Education at The University of Texas at Tyler. She brings more than 33 years of experience in public education and specializes in psychoeducational assessment, bilingual evaluation, and special education eligibility determination.
Throughout her career, Dr. Chen has served in multiple roles, including classroom teacher, educational diagnostician, and special education administrator in Texas public schools. Her work has focused on ensuring that students with disabilities receive appropriate educational services through comprehensive and legally defensible evaluations.
At UT Tyler, Dr. Chen teaches graduate courses in the Educational Diagnostician program. Her instruction emphasizes the application of assessment theory to practice, ethical evaluation procedures, and culturally and linguistically responsive assessment practices. She is particularly committed to preparing future diagnosticians to conduct comprehensive evaluations for diverse student populations, including emergent bilingual learners.
Her professional interests include psychoeducational assessment, dyslexia identification, bilingual evaluation practices, and improving the accuracy of special education eligibility decisions for culturally and linguistically diverse students.