Paul E. Peterson

Paul E. Peterson holds the Henry Lee Shattuck Professorship in Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Government, where he directs the Program on Education Policy and Governance (PEPG). He concurrently serves as Senior Editor of Education Next: A Journal of Opinion and Research and as a Senior Fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution, contributing to their Education Success Initiative focused on state-level policy solutions.

His research centers on educational policy with emphasis on school choice mechanisms, charter school efficacy, and social capital dynamics. Peterson has pioneered longitudinal analyses of student achievement trends, documenting significant gains for students of color over 50 years and evaluating voucher program impacts. His work consistently bridges quantitative analysis of NAEP data with policy implementation studies, particularly examining how federalism shapes educational outcomes and how social networks influence intergenerational mobility.

Recent publications (2023-2025) reveal three dominant trajectories: rigorous state-level charter performance benchmarking using NAEP metrics, analysis of social capital's role in educational mobility, and examination of political polarization's impact on school reform. His scholarship increasingly addresses pandemic-era educational disruptions while maintaining focus on structural inequities and market-based reform efficacy.

His scientific recognition includes:

• John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship
• Woodrow Wilson Award from the American Political Science Association
• Walton Family Foundation Prize for Best Academic Paper on School Choice and Reform

As PEPG Director, Peterson leads a high-impact research program producing policy-relevant studies frequently cited in national debates. The program's work on charter school rankings and voucher evaluations has directly influenced state legislation, while his Hoover Institution role connects academic research to practical governance solutions. Though specific grant details aren't provided, PEPG's sustained output indicates substantial research funding, and his editorial leadership at Education Next shapes scholarly discourse through curated opinion-research synthesis.

PEPG operates as Peterson's primary research hub, coordinating multi-institutional studies on education policy with emphasis on empirical evaluation of reform initiatives. The program's work integrates quantitative analysis, survey research, and policy experimentation, maintaining strong connections to state education agencies through its focus on actionable solutions for policymakers.