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Dynarski Named Vice President and Director of Mathematica’s New Center for Improving Research Evidence
Contact: Cheryl Pedersen, (609) 275-2258
PRINCETON, N.J. (July 30, 2008)—Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., recently announced the appointment of senior fellow Mark Dynarski as vice president and director of the company’s new Center for Improving Research Evidence (CIRE). Senior researcher Susan Goerlich Zief was named assistant director of the center. Dynarski is a resident of East Windsor, and Zief lives in Princeton.
In early 2008, Mathematica launched the center to identify, assess, and disseminate results from high-quality, rigorous research. The center also provides evaluation technical assistance to support a growing national and international research base and aid decision makers who face a broad array of choices. The center builds on Mathematica’s experience in conducting randomized controlled trials and in administering the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), a $50 million project for the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education to provide scientific evidence of what works to improve education. Dynarski directs the WWC and has overseen many other rigorous studies at the forefront of the national policy agenda, including the national evaluation of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers and the national evaluation of educational technology. He has played a leading role in many of Mathematica’s elementary, secondary, postsecondary, and adult education studies, including the largest-ever evaluation of federally funded dropout prevention programs.
Dynarski, who joined the firm in 1988, has a national reputation for his work in education policy, particularly in programs for at-risk children and youth. He is well known for his expertise in econometrics and evaluation methodology, including the design, implementation, and analysis of evaluations of education programs using random assignment and quasi-experimental designs.
Dynarski is a member of the National Research Council Committee on Evaluating Effectiveness of the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards certification program. He serves on advisory boards for several studies funded by the Institute of Education Sciences and is an advisor to the Atlantic Philanthropies Strategic Learning and Evaluation Team. He is also an associate editor of Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis and Effective Education. He has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and is a frequent presenter and discussant at research conferences. He received a Ph.D. in economics from the Johns Hopkins University.
Zief, who joined the firm in 2005, has studied the effectiveness of after-school programs in improving academic and social outcomes. At Mathematica, she has been leading peer review of studies conducted by the Regional Educational Laboratories (RELS) for the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences. The RELS are a network of federally funded institutions that carry out and disseminate high-quality, scientifically valid studies focused on high priority education issues. In addition, she is playing a major role in projects evaluating the New York City Leadership Academy and the Girls Incorporated Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy program. She has also served as a researcher for the What Works Clearinghouse, reviewing and rating the rigor of studies on interventions for beginning reading and dropout prevention. Zief has a Ph.D. in educational policy from the University of Pennsylvania.
Mathematica Policy Research strives to improve public well-being by conducting high-quality, objective research and surveys. A nonpartisan firm, its clients include federal and state governments, foundations, and private-sector and international organizations. The employee-owned company, with offices in Princeton, N.J., Washington, D.C., Cambridge, Mass., and Ann Arbor, Mich., has conducted some of the most important studies of education, health care, welfare, employment, nutrition, and early childhood policies and programs in the U.S.