The UTQ project is being conducted by ETS (Educational Testing Service), the world's largest private nonprofit educational research organization, RAND Corporation, and the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan (ISR-UM). The study is led by Distinguished Researcher Dr. Drew Gitomer, Associate Research Scientist Dr. Courtney Bell at ETS, Senior Statistician Dr. Daniel McCaffrey at RAND Corporation, and Burke A. Hinsdale Collegiate Professor in Education and Research Professor Dr. Brian Rowan at the ISR-UM. Lesli Scott and the Research Staff work closely with experienced School Researchers to implement the data collection activities designed by the Principal Investigators and Collaborating Developers.
Principal Investigators
- Drew Gitomer, Ph.D., Cognitive Psychology
University of Pittsburgh (Principal Investigator).
Dr. Gitomer is ETS Distinguished Researcher and Senior Director of the Center for the Study of Teacher Assessment. His research interests include policy and evaluation issues related to teacher education, licensure, induction and professional development. His studies have focused on enhancing the validity base for teacher licensure assessments (Praxis™) and advanced certification of teacher assessments (National Board for Professional Teaching Standards). Gitomer was Senior Vice President for Research and Development at ETS from 1999 to 2004. He recently completed his term as co-editor of Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. He also edited the recent book Measurement Issues and Assessment for Teaching Quality (Sage, 2008). Gitomer's research has also focused on the design of assessments, particularly those that support the improvement of instruction.
- Courtney A. Bell, Ph.D., Curriculum, Teaching, and Educational Policy
Michigan State University (Co-Principal Investigator).
Dr. Bell is an associate research scientist at ETS in the Learning and Teaching Research Group and a Fellow in the Center for the Study of Teacher Assessment. Prior to joining ETS, Dr. Bell was an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Bell's research focuses on the intersections of policy and practice with a particular focus on teacher learning, parental choice, state policy, and equity. She is currently a co-principal investigator in a large study investigating the effects of choice policies on student achievement and racial attitudes in Connecticut. Dr. Bell's research has been recognized through her receipt of a Spencer Dissertation Fellowship, the AERA Division L Dissertation Award, the Neag School of Education Outstanding Young Researcher Award, and an AERA-ETS Postdoctoral Fellowship.
- Daniel F. McCaffrey, Ph.D., Statistics
North Carolina State University (Co-Investigator).
Dr. McCaffrey is the PNC Chair in Policy Analysis and a Senior Statistician at RAND Corporation. Dr. McCaffrey is nationally recognized for his work on value-added modeling for estimating teacher effects. He has several publications in this area, including his widely cited monograph Evaluating Value-Added Models for Teacher Accountability, and he has presented his findings to diverse audiences including National Conference on Value-Added Modeling, the American Federation of Teachers, the Pennsylvania State Education Association, and research and policy communities. Dr. McCaffrey recently completed an evaluation of the Pennsylvania Value-Added Assessment Pilot Program and is co-Principal Investigator of an IES-funded project that is developing alternative value-added models of teacher effectiveness. Dr. McCaffrey has received funding from Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Kauffman Foundation and The National Education Association for value-added research.
- Brian Rowan, Ph.D., Sociology
Stanford University (Co-Investigator).
Brian Rowan is the Burke A. Hinsdale Collegiate Professor in Education, a Research Professor at the Institute for Social Research, and a Professor of Sociology at the University of Michigan. A sociologist by training, Rowan's scholarly interests lie at the intersection of organization theory and school effectiveness research. Over the years, he has written about education as an institution, the nature of teachers' work, and the effects of school organization, leadership, and instructional practice on student achievement. His current work focuses on the development and evaluation of educational interventions and on the measurement of instruction in school settings. An elected member of the National Academy of Education, Rowan is a recipient of the William J. Davis award for outstanding scholarship in the field of educational administration and the recent editor (with H.D. Meyer) of The New Institutionalism in Education (State University of New York Press).
- Lesli Jo Scott
University of Michigan (Co-Investigator).
Lesli Scott is a co-founder of the Education and Well Being Program at the Institute for Social Research. She has directed research and methodology projects at academically based centers within the University of Michigan and Washington State University since 1983. She serves as the senior study director for large-scale school-based data collection projects and innovative methodological studies conducted at the Institute for Social Research. Her main areas of interest include: quality/cost factors related to design of multi-mode school studies; web-based data collection methodologies; use of multi-media approaches to observe classroom instruction and to develop teacher professional development systems.
UTQ School Researchers
The UTQ School Researchers conduct the classroom observation sessions in our selected classrooms. The School Researchers are employees of the University of Michigan who are based in the Atlanta area. They have past experience as certified middle school teachers. And, they all have been certified to carry out observations using the study instruments. Information about these individuals can be found at this link: School Researchers.
Research Staff
Barb Homburg
Data Collection Coordinator, ISR
David Yamamoto
Recruitment Coordinator, ISR
Donnalee Grey Farquharson
Video Coding and Processes Manager, ISR
Debbie Carr
Communication and Processes Manager, ISR
Yi Qi
Research Associate, ETS
Collaborating Developers
Merrie Blunk (MQI))
Research Associate, Educational Studies (ES) - Learning Mathematics for Teaching (LMT), University of Michigan
Bernie Cleland (FFT)
Educational Consultant
Charlotte Danielson
Educational Consultant
Pam Grossman (PLATO)
Professor of Education, Stanford University School of Education
Bridget Hamre (CLASS)
Associate Director, Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning, University of Virginia
Heather Hill (MQI & MKT)
Associate Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Jennifer Lewis (MQI)
Dr. Jennifer Lewis, Research Associate, University of Michigan
Albert "Duffy" Miller (FFT)
President, Miller Educational Consulting Services, Inc.
Robert Pianta (CLASS)
Professor and Dean, University of Virginia, Curry School of Education