Texas Schools Project

Texas Schools Project is an independent policy research center in the field of education and the economics of education. It is biased toward free-market and pro-business education reform policies due to openness to funding from the business community and its affiliation with the Hoover Institute think tank through researcher Eric Hanushek.

It is closely tied to the University of Texas at Dallas Education Research Center, a warehouse of education data, because it is operated from the same facility by the same staff. Essentially, this means that the nonprofit Texas Schools Project has access to all the data available through the University of Texas at Dallas Education Research Center. It also means that the Texas Schools Project has apparent legitimacy due to its affiliation with a university.

Funding
The Texas School Project does not list its funders on it Web site. However, it performs "research-based evaluations of education initiatives" on behalf of "school districts, education organizations, foundations, and the business community." They take money from independent donations and research grants and "are pleased to consider fee-based opportunities that align with our organizational goals."

Data Holdings
Through its association with the University of Texas at Dallas Education Research, the Texas Schools Project has access to data from the Texas Education Agency, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and the State Board for Educator Certification. Combined, this data is "an unparalleled source of PK-16 education data that will ultimately allow researchers to study the complete educational history of Texas students from pre-K through college."

Working Papers
A list of working papers produced by the Texas School Project is available at http://www.utdallas.edu/research/tsp-erc/working-papers.html.

Researchers
Researchers are:


 * Nathan Berg, University of Texas at Dallas


 * Kurt Beron, University of Texas at Dallas


 * Eric Hanushek, The Hoover Institution, Stanford University


 * Paul Jargowsky, University of Texas at Dallas


 * Kristin Klopfenstein, University of Texas at Dallas


 * Kristin Kuhne, University of Texas at Dallas


 * Magnus Lofstrom, Public Policy Institute of California


 * Paco Martorell, RAND Graduate School


 * Isaac McFarlin Jr., National Poverty Center, University of Michigan


 * Daniel M. O'Brien, University of Texas at Dallas


 * Steven Rivkin, Amherst University


 * Margaret Raymond, Center for Research on Education Outcomes, The Hoover Institution, Stanford University


 * Richard Scotch, University of Texas at Dallas


 * M. Kathleen Thomas, Mississippi State University


 * John Tyler, Brown University

Affiliated Researchers
Affiliated researchers are:

Leila Agha, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

David Buhner, MD, UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

Mike Cline, Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research

Chrys Dougherty, National Center for Educational Achievement

Carol Fenimore, E3 Alliance

Robert Haley, MD, UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

Adam Isen, Wharton School of Business

Nikhil Jha, University of Texas at Dallas

Kimberly Jones, University of Texas at Dallas

Chris King, Ray Marshall Center

Danielle Li, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Lynn Mellor, National Center for Educational Achievement

Omar Robles, Harvard University

Jean Rutherford, National Center for Educational Achievement

Cynthia Schneider, Charles A. Dana Center

Deanna Schexnayder, Ray Marshall Center

Daniel Schroeder, Ray Marshall Center

Ester Smith, E3 Alliance

LaVada Strickland, University of Texas at Dallas

Uri Treisman, Charles A. Dana Center

Don Warren, University of Texas at San Antonio

Staff
Texas School Project staff include:


 * Kristin Klopfenstein, PhD, Interim Director


 * Jim Parsons, Assistant Director


 * Anne Ware, PhD, Assistant Director-Austin


 * Rodney Andrews, PhD, Research


 * Marshall Garland, Research


 * Leigh Hausman, Technology


 * Angelica Ware Herrera, PhD, Research


 * Scott Horn, Data Management


 * Kimberly Jones, Evaluation Services


 * Janie Jury, Administration


 * Jason LaTurner, PhD, Research


 * Zhixiang (Mark) Lu, Data Management


 * Nidhi Mehrotra, PhD, Research


 * Dan O'Brien, PhD


 * Adam Okulicz-Kozaryn, PhD, Research


 * Katie Patterson, Communications


 * Priyanka Singh, PhD, Evaluation Services

External resources

 * University of Texas at Dallas Research Centers


 * Texas Schools Project