Biography

Frederick M. Hess is a resident scholar and the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. He is also executive editor of Education Next. He is best known for his work on a broad range of K-12 and higher education issues, and his books include When Research Matters (Harvard Education Press, 2008), No Child Left Behind: A Primer (Peter Lang, 2006), With the Best of Intentions (Harvard Education Press, 2005), Urban School Reform (Harvard Education Press, 2005), Common Sense School Reform (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), Revolution at the Margins (Brookings Institution Press, 2002), and Spinning Wheels (Brookings Institution Press, 1998). Dr. Hess's work has appeared in scholarly journals including Social Science Quarterly, American Politics Quarterly, the Harvard Educational Review, and Urban Affairs Review. He has also written for publications including National Review, the Washington Post, the Weekly Standard, and the Boston Globe and educational publications such as the American School Board Journal, Education Week, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and Educational Leadership.

Dr. Hess is a faculty associate with the Harvard University Program on Education Policy and Governance. He serves on the review board for the Broad Prize in Urban Education, the boards of directors for the National Association of Charter School Authorizers and StandardsWork, and on the advisory board for the annual Phi Delta Kappan/Gallup survey of public opinion toward schooling. A former public high school social studies teacher in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Dr. Hess holds an M.Ed. in Teaching and Curriculum and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University. He has taught or is currently on the faculty at the University of Virginia, the University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown University, Harvard University, and Rice University.