The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) staff members come from 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.
See Reviews published by this team using the Adolescent Literacy Evidence Review Protocol. This area is currently active and conducting reviews.
Susanne James-Burdumy, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator, 2008–present
Methodological Lead, 2008–present
Dr. Susanne James-Burdumy is associate director of research at Mathematica. Since joining Mathematica in 1999, her research has focused on the design and conduct of rigorous evaluations of educational programs and interventions. Dr. James-Burdumy currently directs the large national evaluation of Race to the Top and School Improvement Grants for the U.S. Department of Education. In past work for the U.S. Department of Education, she directed two random assignment studies, an evaluation of mandatory-random student drug testing programs and an evaluation of reading comprehension programs for fifth-grade students. She also directs a random assignment study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to evaluate Playworks, a program that provides elementary school students with opportunities for physical activity and play during the school day.
Timothy Shanahan, Ph.D.
Content Expert, 2008–present
Dr. Timothy Shanahan is professor of Urban Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he is director of the Center for Literacy. The former director of reading for the Chicago Public Schools, Dr. Shanahan has written or edited six books (including Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Literacy Research) and more than 100 articles and research studies. Dr. Shanahan’s research focuses on the relationship of reading and writing, school improvement, the assessment of reading ability, and family literacy. He has served as president of the International Reading Association and is a former first-grade teacher. Dr. Shanahan has received a number of awards for his contributions to education research, including the Albert J. Harris Award for outstanding research on reading disability and the Milton D. Jacobson Readability Research Award. He was inducted into Illinois Reading Council Hall of Fame in 2002. From 1998 to 2000, Dr. Shanahan served on the White House Assembly on Reading and the National Reading Panel, a group convened by the National Institute of Child Health and Development at the request of Congress to evaluate research on successful methods of teaching reading. In 2006, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the Advisory Board of the National Institute for Literacy. Dr. Shanahan was inducted to the Reading Hall of Fame in 2007. He is a former first-grade teacher.