The experts behind “30 Ideas for Fixing U.S. Schools”

Rigorous policy researcher, but her work centers on higher education rather than K–12 achievement.

Past related work

Formerly faculty at Southern Methodist University; PhD Vanderbilt (2016)

Papers, books and talks

• Research on state affirmative action bans and race-conscious admissions (AERJ)
• Test-optional admissions and student-loan studies (Gates, Russell Sage funded)
• U.S. Senate Banking subcommittee testimony on race, racism and student loans
• Inside Higher Ed column on higher-ed policy; 2023 AERA Early Career Award

Network

National Academies Board on Higher Education and Workforce; AERA; AEFP; guest co-editor of an EEPA special issue with Huriya Jabbar

On this panel: Huriya Jabbar (co-guest editors, EEPA special issue); Brendan Bartanen (vanderbilt Peabody PhDs).

Two questions to ask

1. Which K–12 policies most improve college access for low-income students, and do they also raise achievement before graduation?
2. How should states judge whether advanced-course expansion is widening or narrowing racial gaps in college readiness?

Official profileGoogle Scholar search

Strong causal work on school leaders, the 'visionary leader' factor the article highlights, though narrower in scope.

Past related work

Previously faculty at Texas A&M; PhD Vanderbilt under Jason Grissom

Papers, books and talks

• Grissom & Bartanen, principal effectiveness and strategic teacher retention (AERJ, 2019)
• Principal quality and student attendance (Educational Researcher, 2020)
• Studies of principal turnover and the principal pipeline

Network

Jason Grissom; UVA EdPolicyWorks with Beth Schueler and James Soland

On this panel: Beth E. Schueler (uVA colleagues); James Soland (uVA colleagues); Ilana Seidel Horn (vanderbilt (Bartanen's PhD)); Dominique J. Baker (vanderbilt Peabody PhDs).

Two questions to ask

1. What would it cost a mid-sized district to keep its most effective principals in high-poverty schools for five-plus years?
2. Which principal practices best predict successful rollout of a new curriculum or tutoring program?

Google Scholar search

Directly relevant to the #1 and #2 ideas (tutoring, science of reading), at the student-intervention level.

Past related work

Postdoctoral and research roles with Sharon Vaughn's reading intervention group

Papers, books and talks

• Randomized trials and meta-analyses of reading interventions for struggling readers in upper elementary grades
• Research on text-based comprehension and knowledge-building interventions

Network

Sharon Vaughn, Meadows Center at UT Austin; special-education and literacy intervention researchers

Two questions to ask

1. Which components of reading intervention still help students who remain behind in grades 4–8, after the early phonics window?
2. How much of a small-group tutoring program's effect depends on the program itself versus tutor training and fidelity?

Google Scholar searchTitle from older sources; verify

Deep expertise on opportunity gaps and school culture; less focused on causal tests of achievement interventions.

Past related work

Dean, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education (2016–2021); Stanford GSE faculty; Harvard sociology

Papers, books and talks

• Keepin' It Real: School Success Beyond Black and White (2005)
• Stubborn Roots: Race, Culture, and Inequality in U.S. and South African Schools (2012)
• Closing the Opportunity Gap (co-edited with Kevin Welner, 2013)

Network

Brown colleague of Matthew Kraft; former Stanford GSE colleague of Sean Reardon; Kevin Welner and NEPC circle

On this panel: Matthew A. Kraft (brown University colleagues); Sean F. Reardon (former Stanford GSE colleagues).

Two questions to ask

1. What would a high-accountability system look like that raises scores without harming students' sense of belonging?
2. Which of the top-ranked ideas are most likely to widen gaps if implemented poorly, and how would we spot it early?

Google Scholar search

Methodological rigor on how achievement is measured and where gaps emerge; less on intervention design.

Past related work

Formerly faculty at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Papers, books and talks

• 'Have gender gaps in math closed?' ECLS-K cohort analysis (AERA Open, 2016, with Sarah Lubienski)
• Research on 'mischievous responders' distorting survey estimates for LGBTQ youth
• English learner reclassification and teacher perception studies

Network

Sarah Lubienski (frequent co-author); Jennifer Robinson-Cimpian

On this panel: Sarah Theule Lubienski (co-authors on math gender gaps).

Two questions to ask

1. As schools lean on test-score trends to judge recovery, which measurement artifacts could make gains look bigger or smaller than they are?
2. Do math gender gaps respond differently to curriculum changes than overall achievement does?

Google Scholar search

Causal evidence on two of the article's ideas: charter expansion and expanding advanced classes.

Past related work

Teachers College, Columbia University faculty; PhD Harvard

Papers, books and talks

• Long-run impacts of Boston's Advanced Work Class for high achievers (AEJ: Policy, 2020)
• 'Stand and Deliver' on Boston charter high schools (JOLE, 2016, with Angrist, Dynarski, Pathak, Walters)
• Merit aid and college quality (AEJ: Applied, 2014, with Joshua Goodman)

Network

Joshua Angrist, Parag Pathak, Christopher Walters (MIT Blueprint Labs); Susan Dynarski; Joshua Goodman

On this panel: Susan Dynarski (co-authors on Boston charter high schools); A. Chris Torres (university of Michigan colleagues).

Two questions to ask

1. What student-selection rule for eighth-grade algebra maximizes gains for students who wouldn't otherwise be placed?
2. What features of high-performing Boston charters are transferable to district schools at low cost?

Google Scholar search

Authored the landmark evidence on accountability and teacher evaluation, two of the article's cost-effective ideas.

Past related work

Swarthmore College, University of Virginia; NBER research associate

Papers, books and talks

• Dee & Jacob, the impact of No Child Left Behind on achievement (JPAM, 2011)
• Dee & Wyckoff, incentives and teacher performance under DC's IMPACT (JPAM, 2015)
• Dee & Penner on ethnic studies (AERJ, 2017); post-pandemic chronic absenteeism analyses (PNAS, 2024)

Network

Brian Jacob, James Wyckoff, Emily Penner; Stanford colleagues Sean Reardon and Sarah Novicoff; NBER

On this panel: Sean F. Reardon (stanford GSE colleagues); Sarah Novicoff (co-authors on California early literacy).

Two questions to ask

1. If a state restored NCLB-style accountability today, which design choices would capture the math gains while avoiding narrowing of curriculum?
2. Is chronic absenteeism now the binding constraint on recovery, so that other interventions can't work until attendance improves?

Google Scholar search

Top-tier causal economist; much of her recent work concerns college access more than K–12 achievement.

Past related work

University of Michigan (co-founder, Education Policy Initiative); Harvard Kennedy School

Papers, books and talks

• HAIL Scholarship experiment on simplifying college pricing (AER, 2021)
• Boston charter school studies with Kane, Angrist, Pathak
• Congressional testimony on FAFSA simplification; frequent New York Times Upshot contributor

Network

Brian Jacob, Judith Scott-Clayton; Harvard GSE colleagues Tom Kane, Martin West, Heather Hill, James Kim; Sarah Cohodes

On this panel: Thomas J. Kane (boston charter research; Harvard GSE colleagues); Sarah Cohodes (co-authors on Boston charter high schools); Heather C. Hill (harvard GSE colleagues).

Two questions to ask

1. What's the K–12 equivalent of FAFSA simplification: a cheap design fix with outsized effects?
2. How should districts judge charter expansion when lottery evidence is strong in cities but weaker elsewhere?

Google Scholar search

Broad, policy-engaged research spanning vouchers, principals and teacher diversity.

Past related work

Postdoctoral fellow, Harvard Program on Education Policy and Governance; PhD University of Arkansas under Patrick Wolf

Papers, books and talks

• 'Representation in the classroom': own-race teacher effects (Economics of Education Review, 2015)
• Evaluations of the Louisiana Scholarship Program voucher
• Co-author of the Wallace Foundation synthesis How Principals Affect Students and Schools (2021)

Network

Patrick Wolf; Martin West and Paul Peterson (Harvard PEPG); Jason Grissom; Brian Kisida

On this panel: Martin R. West (harvard PEPG (Egalite's postdoc)); Patrick J. Wolf (phD advisor; Louisiana voucher evaluation).

Two questions to ask

1. Given the voucher results in Louisiana and elsewhere, what design changes, if any, would make vouchers academically competitive with tutoring on cost-effectiveness?
2. Which principal behaviors from the Wallace synthesis are easiest for districts to train?

Google Scholar search

Leading voice on teacher quality policy, central to the pay, firing and staffing ideas the panel rated.

Past related work

Urban Institute; CNA Corporation; Alexandria (VA) school board

Papers, books and talks

• Teacher licensure testing and teacher-quality research
• Student-teaching placements and teacher preparation
• 'The Mystery of Good Teaching' (Education Next, 2002)

Network

CALDER network including Cory Koedel; former UW colleague of Marguerite Roza; state data partnerships in Washington

On this panel: Cory Koedel (cALDER network); Marguerite Roza (former University of Washington colleagues).

Two questions to ask

1. If a state could fund only one of 'raise pay in high-poverty schools' or 'dismiss low performers,' which buys more achievement per dollar?
2. How much would class-size mandates dilute teacher quality in a tight labor market?

Google Scholar search

Decades of work on whether and how money and teachers raise achievement; sharp on cost-effectiveness.

Past related work

University of Rochester; Yale; Congressional Budget Office; 2021 Yidan Prize laureate

Papers, books and talks

• The Knowledge Capital of Nations (2015, with Ludger Woessmann)
• 'The Economic Value of Higher Teacher Quality' (Economics of Education Review, 2011)
• Schoolhouses, Courthouses, and Statehouses (2009, with Alfred Lindseth)

Network

Ludger Woessmann, Steven Rivkin, Paul Peterson; Education Next with Martin West; Hoover Koret Task Force

On this panel: Martin R. West (education Next).

Two questions to ask

1. Per-student funding ranked high on effect but worst on cost: what conditions make new money translate into gains?
2. What is the economic value of reversing the post-2015 score decline, and how should that shape spending choices?

Google Scholar search

Studied one of the largest system-wide reforms in U.S. history and why it worked where it did.

Past related work

University of Wisconsin–Madison; Florida State University

Papers, books and talks

• Charter School City: What the End of Traditional Public Schools in New Orleans Means for American Education (2020)
• Value-Added Measures in Education (2011)
• Studies of New Orleans post-Katrina reforms

Network

Huriya Jabbar (ERA/REACH); Jonathan Mills; Brookings Brown Center

On this panel: Huriya Jabbar (education Research Alliance / REACH).

Two questions to ask

1. Which elements of the New Orleans reforms explain the gains, and which could a traditional district adopt?
2. Louisiana is 'making leaps' now: what distinguishes this wave from the post-Katrina gains?

Google Scholar search

Expert on how curriculum and professional development actually change classroom instruction, key to 'high-quality curriculum.'

Past related work

University of Michigan (Study of Instructional Improvement)

Papers, books and talks

• Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching measures (Hill, Rowan & Ball, AERJ, 2005)
• Mathematical Quality of Instruction (MQI) observation instrument
• Meta-analysis of STEM instructional improvement programs (Lynch, Hill et al., EEPA, 2019)

Network

Deborah Ball, Brian Rowan; Matthew Kraft (co-author); Harvard GSE colleagues Tom Kane and Martin West; Kathleen Lynch

On this panel: Thomas J. Kane (harvard GSE colleagues); Matthew A. Kraft (co-authors on math coaching research); Susan Dynarski (harvard GSE colleagues).

Two questions to ask

1. What professional learning must accompany a high-quality curriculum mandate for it to raise math scores?
2. Why has math declined almost as much as reading, and is there a math equivalent of the science of reading?

Google Scholar search

Valuable on engagement and math classroom practice, the 'less boring' theme; less on large-scale achievement effects.

Past related work

University of Washington faculty; PhD UC Berkeley

Papers, books and talks

• Strength in Numbers: Collaborative Learning in Secondary Mathematics (2012)
• Motivated: Designing Math Classrooms Where Students Want to Join In (2017)
• Research on teacher learning in collaborative workplace meetings

Network

Mathematics education community (NCTM); Vanderbilt colleagues; former students across math-ed programs

On this panel: Brendan Bartanen (vanderbilt (Bartanen's PhD)).

Two questions to ask

1. How can a school raise math rigor (e.g., eighth-grade algebra for more students) without increasing disengagement?
2. What kind of teacher collaboration time actually improves student math outcomes?

Google Scholar search

Illuminates how choice and competition play out on the ground; less direct measurement of achievement effects.

Past related work

University of Texas at Austin; PhD UC Berkeley; 2021 AERA Early Career Award

Papers, books and talks

• How school leaders respond to competition in New Orleans (EEPA, 2015)
• Research on teacher job choice and community-college transfer
• Spencer-funded study of education culture wars

Network

Douglas Harris (ERA/REACH); Detroit PEER with Sarah Lenhoff; USC colleague Morgan Polikoff; EEPA co-editor with Dominique Baker; NEPC fellow

On this panel: Douglas N. Harris (education Research Alliance / REACH); Dominique J. Baker (co-guest editors, EEPA special issue); Sarah Winchell Lenhoff (detroit PEER affiliation); Morgan S. Polikoff (uSC Rossier colleagues).

Two questions to ask

1. When competition pressures schools, what do leaders actually change, and does any of it reach instruction?
2. How do universal voucher programs change the supply of seats for students who need them most?

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Tracks the exact problem the article addresses, district by district, and has tested many of the listed remedies.

Past related work

Brookings; Council of Economic Advisers; UCLA; directed the Gates Foundation's Measures of Effective Teaching project

Papers, books and talks

• Education Recovery Scorecard (with Sean Reardon)
• Kane, Rockoff & Staiger on identifying effective teachers in NYC (EER, 2008)
• Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project reports

Network

Sean Reardon; Douglas Staiger, Jonah Rockoff; Harvard GSE colleagues Hill, West, Dynarski, Kim; Brookings

On this panel: Sean F. Reardon (co-lead the Education Recovery Scorecard); Heather C. Hill (harvard GSE colleagues); Martin R. West (harvard GSE colleagues); Susan Dynarski (boston charter research; Harvard GSE colleagues); James S. Kim (harvard GSE colleagues).

Two questions to ask

1. Which districts in the Recovery Scorecard have fully recovered, and what did they do that others didn't?
2. If Congress had $10 billion for recovery tomorrow, how would you allocate it across tutoring, curriculum and extended time?

Google Scholar search

Experimental evidence on the knowledge-building side of the science of reading.

Past related work

Long-time leader of Harvard's READS Lab

Papers, books and talks

• READS summer reading program randomized trials
• Model of Reading Engagement (MORE): first-grade content literacy RCT (J. Educational Psychology, 2021)
• Research on building background knowledge to lift comprehension

Network

Harvard GSE colleagues Tom Kane, Heather Hill, Martin West; literacy research community

On this panel: Thomas J. Kane (harvard GSE colleagues).

Two questions to ask

1. Science of reading debates focus on phonics: how much of the comprehension slump is a knowledge problem instead?
2. Could low-cost summer reading programs help undo the decade-long decline at scale?

Google Scholar search

Among the few economists measuring curriculum effects, one of the article's best-value ideas.

Past related work

PhD UC San Diego (with Julian Betts); CALDER researcher

Papers, books and talks

• 'Value-added modeling: A review' (EER, 2015, with Mihaly & Rockoff)
• Math textbook effects in California (with Polikoff and colleagues)
• Teacher pension research with Michael Podgursky

Network

CALDER network with Dan Goldhaber; Morgan Polikoff; Michael Podgursky

On this panel: Morgan S. Polikoff (co-authors on textbook effects); Dan Goldhaber (cALDER network).

Two questions to ask

1. How large are achievement differences across popular curricula, and how many districts are still using weak ones?
2. Could pension reform free money to fund differentiated pay for high-poverty schools?

Google Scholar search

Central figure in the tutoring evidence base and in how to interpret intervention effects, the article's top idea.

Past related work

PhD Harvard; former middle-school teacher in California

Papers, books and talks

• Meta-analysis of teacher coaching (Review of Educational Research, 2018, with Blazar & Hogan)
• 'Interpreting Effect Sizes of Education Interventions' (Educational Researcher, 2020)
• 'Revisiting the Widget Effect' on teacher evaluation (with Gilmour, 2017); high-dosage tutoring brief (with Schueler, Loeb, Robinson)

Network

Susanna Loeb, David Blazar, Beth Schueler, Heather Hill; Brown colleague Prudence Carter; quoted in the article

On this panel: Heather C. Hill (co-authors on math coaching research); Beth E. Schueler (co-authors, high-dosage tutoring brief); Prudence L. Carter (brown University colleagues).

Two questions to ask

1. What makes tutoring work at district scale rather than in pilots, and where do programs most often break?
2. Which evidence-backed ideas should a superintendent sequence first given a fixed budget and one-year board horizon?

Google Scholar search

Relevant to the 'student attendance data' idea, emphasizing community factors beyond schools.

Past related work

Education Trust–Midwest; PhD Michigan State

Papers, books and talks

• 2025 book with Jeremy Singer on why schools can't solve chronic absenteeism alone
• Studies of Detroit's attendance barriers (health, housing, transportation)
• Research on school choice and enrollment instability in Detroit

Network

Jeremy Singer; Huriya Jabbar (Detroit PEER affiliate); Detroit Public Schools Community District

On this panel: Huriya Jabbar (detroit PEER affiliation); Jeremy Singer (co-authors, 2025 chronic absenteeism book).

Two questions to ask

1. What should schools do with attendance data, beyond tracking it, to get chronically absent students back?
2. How much of the achievement slump in cities like Detroit is explained by absenteeism alone?

Google Scholar search

Useful perspective on math and on private-school claims relevant to vouchers.

Past related work

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign faculty

Papers, books and talks

• The Public School Advantage: Why Public Schools Outperform Private Schools (2014, with Christopher Lubienski)
• Gender gaps in math across ECLS-K cohorts (with Joseph Cimpian)
• NAEP-based analyses of math instruction and achievement

Network

Joseph Cimpian; Christopher Lubienski

On this panel: Joseph R. Cimpian (co-authors on math gender gaps).

Two questions to ask

1. Why do NAEP analyses find private schools don't outperform public schools once demographics are controlled?
2. What in elementary math instruction contributes most to gaps emerging by third grade?

Google Scholar search

Knows the politics of reform well; less direct causal evidence on achievement interventions.

Past related work

Villanova University; federal and local civil service experience

Papers, books and talks

• Editor, Journal of School Choice
• The Politically Correct University (co-editor, 2009)
• Books and articles on charter schools and education politics

Network

Arkansas Department of Education Reform colleagues Patrick Wolf and Harry Patrinos; Jay Greene

On this panel: Patrick J. Wolf (arkansas Dept. of Education Reform); Harry Anthony Patrinos (arkansas Dept. of Education Reform).

Two questions to ask

1. What political conditions let Mississippi sustain reforms long enough to see gains?
2. Which of the top-ranked ideas are most politically fragile, and how could they be protected?

Google Scholar search

Early-career but directly on state science-of-reading policy.

Past related work

PhD Stanford (education policy and economics); former 6th-grade teacher in South Los Angeles; Brookings research intern

Papers, books and talks

• Research with Thomas Dee on the achievement effects of California's early literacy reforms
• Studies of state policy for English learners
• Work published in AERJ, EEPA and Educational Researcher

Network

Thomas Dee and Sean Reardon (Stanford); PPIC; Getting Down to Facts

On this panel: Thomas S. Dee (co-authors on California early literacy); Sean F. Reardon (stanford GSE).

Two questions to ask

1. What made some states' early literacy laws work while others showed little effect?
2. How should science-of-reading policy be adapted for English learners?

Official profileGoogle Scholar search

Brings international evidence on what raises learning at scale; less U.S.-specific.

Past related work

World Bank Senior Adviser for Education; managed education teams in several regions; Economic Council of Canada

Papers, books and talks

• Returns to investment in education (with George Psacharopoulos)
• Harmonized Learning Outcomes database (Nature, 2021, with Angrist, Djankov, Goldberg)
• Meta-analyses of pandemic learning loss

Network

George Psacharopoulos, Noam Angrist; World Bank; Arkansas colleagues Patrick Wolf and Robert Maranto

On this panel: Patrick J. Wolf (arkansas Dept. of Education Reform); Robert Maranto (arkansas Dept. of Education Reform).

Two questions to ask

1. Which high-performing countries reversed a decade of declining scores, and what did they do?
2. How do U.S. tutoring and structured-pedagogy results compare with the most cost-effective programs globally?

Official profileGoogle Scholar search

Leading researcher on curriculum reform, one of the cost-effective ideas.

Past related work

PhD University of Pennsylvania

Papers, books and talks

• Beyond Standards: The Fragmentation of Education Governance and the Promise of Curriculum Reform (2021)
• Textbook adoption and effects research (with Cory Koedel)
• National survey work on K–12 schooling via USC's Understanding America Study

Network

Cory Koedel; USC colleagues Huriya Jabbar and (formerly) Katharine Strunk

On this panel: Huriya Jabbar (uSC Rossier colleagues); Katharine O. Strunk (former USC colleagues); Cory Koedel (co-authors on textbook effects).

Two questions to ask

1. What stops districts from adopting high-quality curricula, and how can states make adoption stick?
2. How should accountability systems be redesigned to reward growth without narrowing instruction?

Google Scholar search

His data underlie claims like '83 percent of districts' declining; unmatched view of where scores rise and fall.

Past related work

Penn State; Harvard

Papers, books and talks

• 'The Widening Academic Achievement Gap Between the Rich and the Poor' (2011)
• Stanford Education Data Archive: comparable test scores for every U.S. district
• Education Recovery Scorecard (with Tom Kane)

Network

Tom Kane; Andrew Ho, Erin Fahle, Ben Shear; Stanford colleagues Thomas Dee and Sarah Novicoff

On this panel: Thomas J. Kane (co-lead the Education Recovery Scorecard); Thomas S. Dee (stanford GSE colleagues); Sarah Novicoff (stanford GSE); Prudence L. Carter (former Stanford GSE colleagues).

Two questions to ask

1. What distinguishes districts that improved between 2015 and 2025 from the majority that declined?
2. Did the pre-pandemic slump start earlier in some groups, and what does that suggest about its causes?

Google Scholar search

Expert on turning dollars into results, the practical side of costing each idea.

Past related work

Senior economic adviser, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; University of Washington Center on Reinventing Public Education

Papers, books and talks

• Educational Economics: Where Do School Funds Go? (2010)
• Tracking of ESSER pandemic relief spending
• Finance training for school leaders

Network

Former UW colleague of Dan Goldhaber; Chad Aldeman; state finance officials; quoted in the article

On this panel: Dan Goldhaber (former University of Washington colleagues).

Two questions to ask

1. Where did ESSER money go, and what share went to strategies the panel rated effective?
2. How can districts facing fiscal cliffs keep tutoring while cutting elsewhere?

Google Scholar search

Offers a counterweight on measuring quality beyond tests; less on test-score interventions.

Past related work

UMass Lowell; College of the Holy Cross; co-host of the Have You Heard podcast

Papers, books and talks

• Beyond Test Scores: A Better Way to Measure School Quality (2017)
• A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door (2020, with Jennifer Berkshire)
• Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Education Assessment (MCIEA)

Network

Jennifer Berkshire; MCIEA districts; historians and policy scholars of education

Two questions to ask

1. If accountability returns, how can it include non-test measures without diluting academic focus?
2. What historical lessons explain why reform waves fade before gains lock in?

Google Scholar search

Causal evidence on turnaround and intensive small-group instruction, both central to the article.

Past related work

PhD Harvard; postdoc at Brown

Papers, books and talks

• Lawrence, MA state takeover and turnaround (EEPA, 2017, with Goodman & Deming)
• 'Making the most of school vacation' vacation academies (Education Finance and Policy)
• Meta-analysis of state takeovers (with Bleiberg); high-dosage tutoring brief (with Kraft et al.)

Network

Matthew Kraft; Martin West (co-author); Joshua Goodman, David Deming; UVA colleagues Bartanen and Soland

On this panel: Matthew A. Kraft (co-authors, high-dosage tutoring brief); Martin R. West (co-authors on school-funding opinion research); Brendan Bartanen (uVA colleagues); James Soland (uVA colleagues).

Two questions to ask

1. What made the Lawrence turnaround succeed where most state takeovers fail?
2. Could school-break 'vacation academies' be a cheaper way to deliver small-group tutoring at scale?

Google Scholar search

Survey data show how ideas are being implemented; less on causal intervention effects.

Past related work

PhD UCLA

Papers, books and talks

• RAND American Educator Panels research on curriculum, instruction and school conditions
• Measurement of classroom climate and student experience
• Analyses of pandemic-era instruction and recovery

Network

RAND education colleagues (American Teacher and School Leader Panels)

Two questions to ask

1. What do national teacher surveys show about whether science-of-reading and curriculum mandates are actually used in classrooms?
2. How widespread are phone bans and screen limits now, and what early data exist on their effects?

Google Scholar searchTitle from older sources; verify

Useful on attendance and choice in high-poverty cities; earlier-career, narrower scope.

Past related work

Wayne State research faculty and associate director of Detroit PEER; postdoc at Michigan State's EPIC; former Detroit Public Schools teacher

Papers, books and talks

• 2025 book with Sarah Lenhoff on chronic absenteeism
• School choice and stratification in Detroit (EEPA, 2024) and socioeconomic differences in choice (AERJ, 2024)
• Effect of suspensions on attendance (Urban Education, 2023)

Network

Sarah Lenhoff; Katharine Strunk (EPIC postdoc); Detroit PEER

On this panel: Sarah Winchell Lenhoff (co-authors, 2025 chronic absenteeism book); Katharine O. Strunk (ePIC postdoc at Michigan State).

Two questions to ask

1. Which school-based attendance strategies have worked in high-absenteeism districts, and what can't schools fix alone?
2. Does school choice in Detroit help or hurt students' consistency of attendance?

Official profileGoogle Scholar search

Tracks achievement trajectories closely; less on intervention design.

Past related work

NWEA research scientist; PhD Stanford

Papers, books and talks

• Projecting COVID-19 impacts on achievement (Educational Researcher, 2020, with Megan Kuhfeld et al.)
• Research on test-taking effort and measurement of social-emotional skills
• NWEA MAP growth analyses of recovery

Network

Megan Kuhfeld and NWEA; UVA colleagues Beth Schueler and Brendan Bartanen

On this panel: Brendan Bartanen (uVA colleagues); Beth E. Schueler (uVA colleagues).

Two questions to ask

1. What do MAP growth data say about whether recent cohorts are gaining at normal rates or still falling behind?
2. How much of the decline could reflect lower test-taking effort rather than lower learning?

Google Scholar search

Deep experience turning research into state policy; relevant to pay, unions and accountability.

Past related work

Michigan State (founding director, Education Policy Innovation Collaborative); USC; UC Davis; AEFP president 2021–22

Papers, books and talks

• Research on teacher collective bargaining agreements and teacher labor markets
• Evaluations of Michigan's Partnership Model of school turnaround (with Chris Torres and others)
• Only researcher on Gov. Whitmer's Student Recovery Advisory Council

Network

Chris Torres; Jeremy Singer (EPIC); former USC colleague Morgan Polikoff; Michigan and California education departments; School District of Philadelphia

On this panel: Jeremy Singer (ePIC postdoc at Michigan State); A. Chris Torres (co-authors, Michigan Partnership Model); Morgan S. Polikoff (former USC colleagues).

Two questions to ask

1. How can differentiated pay for high-poverty schools be negotiated with unions without stalling?
2. What made Michigan's Partnership Model turnaround schools improve, or not?

Official profileGoogle Scholar search

Expertise in what things cost, central to the article's effect-vs-cost framing.

Past related work

Senior economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

Papers, books and talks

• Comparable Wage Index for Teachers, produced for the National Center for Education Statistics
• Cost-function studies of school finance adequacy in Texas
• Quoted in the article on pre-K quality

Network

NCES; Texas legislature and school finance commissions

Two questions to ask

1. What distinguishes high-quality pre-K from 'subsidized day care' in ways a state can fund and monitor?
2. How should per-student funding formulas be weighted to get the most achievement per dollar?

Google Scholar search

Strong on implementation and staffing, the article's 'executed well' theme; qualitative rather than causal.

Past related work

Michigan State; Montclair State; New York City K–2 teacher and central-office hiring designer; UCEA associate director

Papers, books and talks

• Teacher turnover in 'no-excuses' charter networks
• 'Compliance, Chaos, or Coherence?' on superintendents and turnaround policy (EEPA, 2023)
• Work on hiring and retention amid teacher shortages

Network

Katharine Strunk (Partnership Model co-author); UM colleague Sarah Cohodes; UCEA; quoted in the article

On this panel: Katharine O. Strunk (co-authors, Michigan Partnership Model); Sarah Cohodes (university of Michigan colleagues).

Two questions to ask

1. What keeps teachers in schools that are raising rigor, and what drives them out?
2. How can districts implement several reforms at once without incoherence?

Official profileGoogle Scholar search

Combines accountability research with national policy experience and NAEP governance.

Past related work

Senior education policy adviser to Sen. Lamar Alexander (2013); Brown University; National Assessment Governing Board member

Papers, books and talks

• Education Next annual survey of public opinion
• 'Promise and Paradox': measuring non-cognitive skills (EEPA, 2016)
• Research on accountability and school choice

Network

Paul Peterson, Eric Hanushek (Education Next); Anna Egalite and Beth Schueler; Harvard GSE colleagues

On this panel: Thomas J. Kane (harvard GSE colleagues); Anna J. Egalite (harvard PEPG (Egalite's postdoc)); Beth E. Schueler (co-authors on school-funding opinion research); Eric A. Hanushek (education Next).

Two questions to ask

1. Why did federal accountability recede after 2015, and what would a politically durable version look like?
2. What does public opinion data say about support for the high-cost ideas ranked most effective?

Google Scholar search

The leading voucher evaluator; offers the strongest case for vouchers on non-test outcomes.

Past related work

Georgetown; Columbia; led the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program evaluation

Papers, books and talks

• Evaluation of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (JPAM, 2013)
• Milwaukee Parental Choice Program longitudinal evaluation
• Louisiana Scholarship Program studies (with Egalite, Mills)

Network

Anna Egalite; Arkansas colleagues Robert Maranto and Harry Patrinos; Paul Peterson

On this panel: Anna J. Egalite (phD advisor; Louisiana voucher evaluation); Robert Maranto (arkansas Dept. of Education Reform); Harry Anthony Patrinos (arkansas Dept. of Education Reform).

Two questions to ask

1. Voucher studies often show attainment gains without test-score gains: how should policymakers weigh that?
2. What design features explain why recent voucher programs showed negative test effects?

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