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Gill Joins Mathematica as a Senior Social Scientist
Contact: Cheryl Pedersen, (609) 275-2258
CAMBRIDGE, MA (July 17, 2007)—Brian Gill, a resident of Concord, has joined Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., as a senior social scientist. His research addresses a variety of topics in K-12 education policy, such as parental choice (including charter schools and vouchers), districtwide instructional reform, high-stakes testing, and the value of homework as a means of communication from schools to parents.
Gill, who received a J.D. and a Ph.D. in jurisprudence and social policy from the University of California at Berkeley, was previously a senior social scientist at the RAND Corporation. While there, he led research and analysis projects with the Pittsburgh Public Schools, developing a new metric for measuring high school performance and estimating graduation and dropout rates. He was lead author of the book Rhetoric vs. Reality: What We Know and What We Need to Know About Vouchers and Charter Schools, as well as a comprehensive report on Edison Schools, the nation's largest for-profit operator of public schools. He recently completed a study examining private management of public schools in Philadelphia, which is in the midst of the nation's largest experiment in contracting the operation of public schools, and effects on students' academic achievement.
Gill's research includes a National Science Foundation-funded project on the large-scale implementation of elementary mathematics curricula and a multistate study of achievement and attainment effects of charter schools. He publishes and presents widely in his field and is senior adviser for school choice issues on the U.S. Department of Education's National Longitudinal Study of No Child Left Behind.
Paul Decker, president of Mathematica®, said, “We are extremely pleased to have Brian join our staff. His outstanding record of education policy research will enhance our ability to meet the needs of policymakers and uphold our reputation for high-quality research.”
Mathematica, a nonpartisan firm, conducts policy research and surveys for federal and state governments, foundations, and private-sector clients. The employee-owned company, with offices in Princeton, N.J., Washington, D.C., and Cambridge, Mass., has conducted some of the most important studies of education, early childhood policies, health care, welfare, employment, and nutrition programs in the U.S. Mathematica strives to improve public well-being by bringing the highest standards of quality, objectivity, and excellence to bear on the provision of information collection and analysis to its clients.