Matthew A Kraft
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matthewakraft.com
Matthew A Kraft
@matthewakraft.com

Professor of Education and Economics. Former high school humanities teacher. Proud papa & volunteer soccer coach. Reading as much as I can about climate change. www.matthewakraft.com

Matthew A. Kraft is an American economist of education, educator, and researcher. He is currently a Professor of Education and Economics at Brown University, a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a Research Fellow with IZA – Institute of Labor Economics. His primary work focuses on efforts to improve educator and organizational effectiveness in U.S. public schools. Kraft also is also the Founder and Faculty Director of SustainableED, an initiative at Brown University focused on advancing research at the intersection of education systems and climate change. From July 2024 to July 2025, he was appointed by the Biden administration to serve as a senior economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers. .. more

Education 82%
Business 6%
A new @edweek.org article highlights the nation’s top education scholars. Congratulations to those recognized, including Professors John Diamond, Lindsay Page, John Papay, and affiliates Emily Oster, @matthewakraft.com, and Prudence Carter.
Who Are the Nation's Top Education Scholars? (Opinion)
The RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings recognize researchers who shape practice and policy.
www.edweek.org

If you are a scholar working on topics related to sustainability, climate change, or the environment and your work has implications for education systems/policy (or vice versa) please consider applying to the #SustainableED Conference. Let's build a community together.

Friends - thanks for sharing!
This spring, we’re hosting the inaugural SustainableED Conference!

This event will convene researchers across a range of disciplines along with practitioners, non-profit organizers, and policymakers to generate policy-relevant insights from research.

🧵
To ring in the new year, I'm excited to announce the launch of the Politics of Education Lab (PEdL) at the Stanford GSE. The goal is to advance understanding of the political dimensions of education policymaking to help policymakers and practitioners strengthen school systems.

pedl.stanford.edu
The Politics of Education Lab
pedl.stanford.edu
Fabulous postdoc opportunity at Stanford to work on the politics of education with one of the best @bethschueler.bsky.social postdocs.stanford.edu/prospective/...
Open Postdoctoral position, faculty mentor Beth Schueler | Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
postdocs.stanford.edu

Reposted by Matthew A. Kraft

This spring, we’re hosting the inaugural SustainableED Conference!

This event will convene researchers across a range of disciplines along with practitioners, non-profit organizers, and policymakers to generate policy-relevant insights from research.

🧵

We spent some time in the enchanting town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico over the winter break. I was thrilled to see these solar panels covering the entire parking lot at Walmart, providing clean energy and shade from the sun.

More of this please.
We @wheelockpolicybu.bsky.social are hiring a director for our Policy-Aligned Research Agenda Buildling Lab (PARABL), to help education system leaders build research roadmaps to effect change in a particular area.

More info here:

wheelockpolicycenter.org/wp-content/u...

A hopeful story in your news feed:

Land owned by an Illinois school district that was used as a brownfield site for industrial waste has been remediated and converted to a massive solar array.

More of this please. #SustainableED @edsustainable.bsky.social

www.canarymedia.com/articles/sol...
How community solar turned a Superfund site into savings in Illinois
A new 9.1-MW solar array will help residents of Waukegan, Illinois, reduce energy bills. State incentives for low-income solar made the project possible.
www.canarymedia.com

Thank you @ievajusionyte.bsky.social for your powerful article in the @BostonGlobe on the Brown shooting and the plague of gun violence in the US.

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/12/17/o...
I’m a scholar of gun violence. Not even I can process what happened at Brown. - The Boston Globe
My typical response to school shootings is to call for policy changes. But I’m afraid the task ahead is bigger than that.
www.bostonglobe.com

Because we cannot say it enough.

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/16/u...

Reposted by Matthew A. Kraft

A short piece on the tragedy at Brown University—and why we must refuse to accept mass school shootings as normal.

matthewakraft.substack.com/p/the-insani...

I am numb with grief and horror and rage. Brown has been my home for thirteen years. I've taught in Barus and Holley. It was an econ class.

Hug your loved ones and tell them how much they mean to you.

Reposted by Dan Goldhaber

Impressive new RCT on professional learning/teacher beliefs/instructional practices.

It uses a team-based, theory-driven, methodologically rigorous & large scale research design to uncover core insights about increasing student engagement & learning.

www.researchgate.net/publication/...

Excited to see our latest paper examining student-tutor ratios in online math tutoring highlighted in @crpe.bsky.social's latest Evidence Project round up.

Paper:
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Evidence Project Substack:
evidenceproject.substack.com/p/notes-from...
Hey #econsky! I'm organizing a workshop at Brown this Spring in partnership with Eric Nielsen and Viviana Rodriguez.

The topic is educational measurement. Please submit a paper/extended abstract! We'd love to consider your work.

And please help us spread the word to folks who aren't on bluesky!

Thanks to The Learning Agenda for inviting me to give a Thought Leader talk on *Implementing* and *Scaling* Effective Teacher Coaching Programs at their annual conference.

Happy to share a few of my key takeaways.

What else is the secret sauce of sustaining effective teacher coaching programs?

Reposted by Joshua Goodman

One of my very favorite holiday traditions! Kevin Mahnken's top graphs from ed research via @the74.bsky.social.

www.the74million.org/article/12-c...
Vax Rates, ESAs, and Cell Phone Bans: 12 Charts That Defined Education in 2025
These research findings captured the K–12 world at the start of President Trump’s second term.
www.the74million.org

I'm thrilled to share the recording of our first #SustainableED Virtual Seminar

@jorgecuartas.bsky.social's talk does an amazing job outlining the multiple pathways through which climate change affects childhood development.

Highly accessible for all audiences.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pRI...
SustainableED Virtual Seminar Series: Jorge Cuartas
YouTube video by SustainableED
www.youtube.com

Reposted by Matthew A. Kraft

Professor of Education @matthewakraft.com provided commentary on the challenges and hopes of implementing successful tutoring at scale.

www.edweek.org/leadership/w...
Why Hasn't Tutoring Been More Effective?
Recent studies of tutoring programs show small or no effects. Why?
www.edweek.org

I'm excited to kick-off our SustainableEd virtual seminar series with Jorge Cuartas this Monday! @edsustainable.bsky.social

It is open to the public and free - join us!
Join our #SustainableED Virtual Seminar Series with @jorgecuartas.bsky.social, Assistant Professor at NYU and director of the CARE Lab, whose work explores how climate change shapes child development and family well-being.

🗓️ 12/1 | 🕐 1:00-1:45 EST
🔗 Register here: brown.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Reposted by Matthew A. Kraft

Join our #SustainableED Virtual Seminar Series with @jorgecuartas.bsky.social, Assistant Professor at NYU and director of the CARE Lab, whose work explores how climate change shapes child development and family well-being.

🗓️ 12/1 | 🕐 1:00-1:45 EST
🔗 Register here: brown.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Reposted by Matthew A. Kraft

🌍How does climate change impact our youngest learners?

In our new #SustainableED Speaker Series, @jorgecuartas.bsky.social will explore emerging evidence connecting climate change and child development.

🗓️: 12/1 | 🕐 1:00-1:45 EST

Register here: buff.ly/BD7cCv5

Conference topics will include:

Creating more resilient & sustainable schools

How climate change impacts sch infrastructure & operations, students, & teachers

Climate literacy & environmental education

Career & Tech Ed for green jobs

Schools as hubs for climate solutions
@edsustainable.bsky.social is hosting our first annual interdisciplinary conference!

Research at the intersection of education and the environment. 🎓🌎

May 1st, 2026

Providence, RI

Easy one paragraph abstract submission ⬇️
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Please share w/ your networks!
📢 New postdoc opportunity at Annenberg!

The Annenberg Institute is seeking a postdoctoral research associate for a 2‐year appointment to join a diverse community of scholars committed to educational equity and improvement!

More info here: annenberg.brown.edu/opportunitie...

Reposted by Matthew A. Kraft

H/t to @shermandorn.com for reminding me about this important article by @matthewakraft.com on how typical interpretations of Cohen's d (.20 = small, etc.) are oversimplified. Decision-makers often want... (1/2) #PsychSciSky #AcademicSky #EduSky
Interpreting Effect Sizes of Education Interventions - Matthew A. Kraft, 2020
Researchers commonly interpret effect sizes by applying benchmarks proposed by Jacob Cohen over a half century ago. However, effects that are small by Cohen’s s...
journals.sagepub.com
The aggressive immigration raids we now see across the nation began 10 months ago in California's Central Valley. Their impact on children, families, and communities is an important & active area of research

I'm pleased my study of the initial raid's early impact on students is now out in @pnas.org

📢 Announcing the 25-26 SustainableED Virtual Seminar Series!

We're hosting 4 public seminars synthesizing research at the intersection of ed & climate change:

12/1 @jorgecuartas.bsky.social
2/9 Jaimie Davis
3/11 Hunter Gehlbach
4/15 @claudiapersico.bsky.social

Register: linktr.ee/edsustainable