Director, Education and Employment Program; Director, American Educator Panels; Senior Policy Researcher; Professor of Policy Analysis, RAND School of Public Policy
She/Her
Julia Kaufman is director of the Education and Employment Program at RAND and a professor of policy analysis at the RAND School of Public Policy. She also codirects the RAND American Educator Panels. Her research focuses on how states and school systems can support high-quality instruction and student learning, as well as methods for measuring educator perceptions and instruction.
She has led studies in a range of areas from the implementation of K–12 state standards and curriculum materials to factors that support adult and child civic literacy, identity, and engagement. She has also worked closely with a number of state departments of education to support their reform efforts through research and analysis, including the Louisiana Department of Education and a Council of Chief State School Officer network aimed at increasing adoption and use of high-quality instructional materials. Kaufman has also led studies to investigate the implementation, outcomes, and costs associated with pipelines for preparing, hiring, and supporting high-quality school leaders and teachers. Lastly, she has done considerable work to develop innovative measures of instructional practice, including measures of student-centered learning and teachers' mathematics instruction.
Kaufman holds a Ph.D. in international education from New York University and an M.A. in teaching from the University of Pittsburgh.
Ph.D. in international education, New York University; M.A. in teaching, University of Pittsburgh; B.A. in English literature, University of Pittsburgh; Postdoctoral Fellowship in learning policy, University of Pittsburgh; Postdoctoral Fellowship in methodology and interdisciplinary research, Carnegie Mellon University and RAND Corporation
