The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) staff represents diverse backgrounds, including education, psychology, economics, sociology, and communications. The WWC staff consists of leading experts in the field of scientifically based evidence in education research.
Dr. Mark Dynarski is the director of the WWC. He is vice president and director of the Center for Improving Research Evidence (CIRE) at Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., where he has worked since 1988. He has overseen many rigorous studies at the forefront of the national policy agenda, including the national evaluation of the School Dropout Demonstration Assistance Program, 21st Century after-school programs, and the national evaluation of educational technology. Dr. Dynarski 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. He was a member of the National Research Council’s committee on Evaluating Effectiveness of the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards certification program and serves on advisory boards for studies funded by the Institute of Education Sciences and the Atlantic Philanthropies, and he serves as 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. Dr. Dynarski received a Ph.D. in economics from the Johns Hopkins University.
Scott Cody is the deputy director of the WWC responsible for quality and consistency across all WWC topics. He also directs the development of all WWC Practice Guides. Mr. Cody is a Senior Researcher at Mathematica Policy Research with expertise in research design, quantitative and qualitative analysis methods, and data quality. Since joining the firm in 1996, Mr. Cody has directed research in the areas of education, food and nutrition, and income support. His research has examined issues of after school programming and teacher performance.
Dr. Jill Constantine is the deputy director of the WWC and the Principal Investigator of the Beginning Reading topic area. She is a senior economist, education area leader, and associate director of research at Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. Her expertise includes using random assignment, matching procedures such as propensity scoring, and advanced statistical modeling. Dr. Constantine, who joined Mathematica in 2001, also directed the firm's evaluation of Talent Search, one of the federal TRIO programs designed to improve access to college for low-income students. She is currently overseeing Mathematica's study of the efficacy of different teacher preparation methods in contributing to the academic achievement of elementary school students. She has conducted impact and statistical analyses on several large-scale projects, including the National Early Head Start Research and Evaluation project, which focused on the cognitive and socio-emotional outcomes of young children and parenting skills of their parents. Before joining the firm, she was an assistant professor at Williams College. She has published in and serves as a reviewer for a number of peer-reviewed journals, including Child Development, Developmental Psychology, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Industrial Relations, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, and Review of African American Education.
Dr. Michael Ponza is the director of operations for the WWC. He is a senior fellow at Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., where he has worked since 1988. He is well known for his expertise in evaluation methodology, including the design, implementation, and analysis of evaluations of welfare, school meal and other food assistance and nutrition programs, and employment programs using random assignment and quasi-experimental designs. He has been the project director or principal investigator on many large, complex studies during his career. Prior to joining Mathematica, Ponza was an associate study director at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. He publishes in a variety of journals including the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Journal of Human Resources, and Public Opinion Quarterly and presents research findings to policy, practitioner, and professional groups. Dr. Ponza received a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan.
Dr. Neil Seftor is the deputy director of the WWC responsible for overseeing topic area reviews and the Principal Investigator of the High School Math topic area. He is a senior economist at Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., with several years of experience in education research. His expertise includes econometric and evaluation methodology, including the design and analysis of education policy evaluations using random assignment and quasi-experimental methods. Dr. Seftor led the National Evaluation of Upward Bound, including the estimation of the experimental impact estimates for Regular Upward Bound and the nonexperimental analysis of Upward Bound Math-Science. Additional work includes the analysis for the National Evaluation of Talent Search, the analysis of two NIH-funded evaluations of the Undergraduate Scholarship and Intramural Research Loan repayment programs, a report on Quality Teaching, and an article on federal financial aid policy in The Journal of Human Resources. Dr. Seftor received a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Virginia.
