About
Thomas Kane is the Walter H. Gale Professor of Education and Economics at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education (HGSE). He is the faculty director of the Center for Education Policy Research (CEPR), a university-wide research center collaborating with school districts and state agencies. His career spans K-12 and higher education policy, focusing on teacher effectiveness, accountability systems, financial aid, and pandemic recovery. He previously served at the Clinton White House's Council of Economic Advisers and UCLA.
Education:
- Ph.D., Harvard University, 1991
Research Interests: Education Policy, Inequality in Education, Teacher Evaluation, and Evidence-Based Interventions. His work emphasizes rigorous evaluation of educational practices, including the landmark Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project funded by the Gates Foundation. Recent focus includes pandemic-induced learning loss and strategies for academic recovery.
Publications: Over 50 peer-reviewed articles, including studies on charter school impacts, high-dosage tutoring efficacy, and NAEP score implications. Recent works address post-pandemic district performance and federal relief fund utilization.
Awards: 2006 UCLA School of Public Affairs Professor of the Year.
Grants & Partnerships: Principal Investigator for the PIER2 fellowship program, training researchers in practitioner partnerships. CEPR’s Education Recovery Scorecard tracks post-pandemic achievement trends. Collaborations include MIT, Stanford, and state education agencies.
Labs/Teams: Leads CEPR and the Strategic Data Project, which trains analysts in education agencies. Active in the 'States Leading States' initiative to improve state-level policy evaluation.
