Current Scholars
- 2006-2007 Pre-Doctoral Educational Fellows
- 2006-2007 Dissertation Fellows
- 2005-2006 Pre-Doctoral Educational Fellows
2006-2007 Pre-Doctoral Educational Fellows
Emily Art
Emily Art is a second year student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Chicago. she received her BA in Urban Studies from Wellesley College in 2002 graduating Summa Cum Laude. Emily is also a member of Phi Beta Kappa and after graduation, she began an eight-month journey through South Africa, Southeast Asia, and New Zealand, where she volunteered on organic farms, in an orphanage, and a school. Emily states that “a Ph.D. in Sociology will be the backbone for my future work as an advocate for social justice in an educational or governmental setting.” Emily is currently working with Professors Stephen Raudenbush, Mario Small and Micere Keels on a developmental study of how student mobility in Chicago affects school effectiveness and student outcomes. Her abiding interest in education provoked questions for the new environments as she pondered how postcolonial school systems were adapting to include cultures of indigenous populations.
Andrew Mattarella-Micke
Andrew Mattarella-Micke, is a second year student in psychology. A graduate of Michigan State University, Andrew received his degree in Statistics in 2005. Andrew’s honor thesis focused on the relationship between domain specific knowledge and visuospatial memory using chess as a representative task. By relating similar cognitive factors to an educational context, the goal of Andrew’s research is to inform pedagogy with psychology theory and the tools of cognitive neuroscience. Andrew Mattarella-Micke poster entitled “The Effects of Performance pressure on Math Problem Solving” was accepted for presentation at the 2007 Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Research Conference. This work explored how performance pressure impacts mathematical problem solving as a function of the type of math problems being tested and the cognitive abilities of the performer. He has also explored literature concerning similar issues of working memory.
Daniel Ramsey
Daniel Ramsey, a second year student in economics at the University of Chicago is a Mathematics/Analysis major from Harvard University. His primary objective is to pursue a Ph.D. and become research professor involved in policy development. Daniel feels his broad exposure to economics research-independent thesis, first-hand policy work, and collaboration with top academics on empirical projects has prepared him well for graduate school. His research interest includes assessing disparities in students’ awareness of incentives inherent in the education system my drive disparities in student performance, and the study of policy implications of the fact that citizens are heterogeneous abilities.
Julia Burdick-Will
Julia Burdick-Will a second year graduate student in sociology, graduated from the University of Chicago with honors in Sociology and Latin American Studies. Julia’s research interest are education, urban structure and stratification, and immigration. Her focus is on structural consequences of different education policies and the way the American two-tier educational system and its ideas of a meritocracy shape American social stratification and cultural. Her article entitled “Assimilation versus Multiculturalism: The Bilingual Education and the Latino Challenge” appears in the Journal of Latinos and Education. Julia is currently working with Professors Stephen Raudenbush, Mario Small and Micere Keels on a developmental study of how student mobility in Chicago affects school effectiveness and student outcomes.
2006-2007 Dissertation Fellows
Pablo Pena
Pablo Pena received a PhD in Economics in June 2007. Pablo Pena’s poster entitled “Tuition and Wealth at American Colleges” was accepted for presentation at the 2007 Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Research Conference. In this paper he developed a model of the market of higher education to explain tuition patterns. The model is based on seminal work of Gale and Shapley (1962) and is similar in structure to the labor market model of Crawford and Knoer (1981) when utility is imperfectly transferable. The main conclusion was that colleges’ wealth must be added to the list of factors behind the rapid growth in tuition fees over the last twenty-five years discussed in other studies such as Clotfelter (1996) and Ehrenberg (2000). His dissertation entitled “Essays on Higher Education” focused on the higher education industry.
Linda Suriyakham
Linda Suriyakham recentely completed her PhD in the Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience Program at the University of Chicago. Linda also pursued several research projects investigating signal detection theories of memory and the effects of cognitive and physiological stress on executive functions. Her work entitled “Parental Input Effects on Preschooler’s Number Concepts” examined individual and socio-economic status (SES)-related differences in math achievement scores at the beginning of the year in preschool and kindergarten was accepted for presentation at the 2007 Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Research Conference.
2005-2006 Pre-Doctoral Educational Fellows
Devon Haskell
Devon Haskell is a third year student in the economics PhD program at the University of Chicago. Devon is a graduate of Dartmouth College, graduated Summa Cum Laude and received her BA in economics (with honors) in 2003. Ms. Haskell developed an interest in educational research during her volunteer experiences with disadvantaged students in inner city schools. During her senior year at Dartmouth, her research included an econimetric analysis of the effects of charter schools on student achievement. She remains interested in the field of school choice and believes this area of research will provide insights into the development of better school systems. Devon was awarded the Nelson A. Rockefeller Prize for the outstanding economics major, earned several citations for her work in econimics and statistics, and received Phi Betta Kappa honors as a junior. She will begin work this fall on the Chicago Public School Charter School Study.
Rachel Garrett
Rachel Garrett is a third year doctoral student enrolled in the Irving B. Harris School of Public Policy Studies. She received her BA in economics from Barnard College, Columbia University. Rachel graduated Magna Cum Laude, receiving Departmental Honors of Distinction on the Senior Requirement. Her thesis explored the intergenerational transmission of human capital by prediciting child achievement test scores using maternal characteristics. Ms. Garrett is the recipient of the Alena Wels Hirschorn Prize for outstanding paper in economics, was awarded the Certificate of Outstanding Achievement in German Language and Literature, and since her graduation, Rachel has worked as a research assistant at the Spencer Foundation for Educational Research. She is currently working with Professor Derek Neal, Professor Economics and Professor Diane Whitmore-Schanzenbach, Assistant Professor in Public Policy Studies to detect the impact of high stakes testing on children of varied backgrounds in Chicago. Rachel is also exploring the impact of specific aspects of mathematics instruction on mathematics learning during the kindergarten year. Her work will compare parental versus teacher beliefs about kindergarten readiness, comparing their predicitive power on achievement growth during kindergarten.
Sally Sadoff
Sally Sadoff is a third year PhD student in economics at the University of Chicago. She received her BA in economics from Harvard University in 2000. As an undergraduate, she taught English as a Second Language to adult immigrants in the Boston area and worked as a summer intern in Senegal where where she coordinated an early education project. After completing her undergraduate studies Sally taught high school mathematics and taught at a CharterMiddle School in East Palo Alto California, a primarily poor, immigrant and minority community. She is the recipient of the prestigious Dan Searle Fellowship award, 2005, the CharterTeach Fellowship in 2001, the Weismann International Internship, 1999 and the U.S. Presidential Scholarship, 1996. Sally’s research focuses on achievement gaps and growth in adolescence and early adulthood, and school-student matching in measures of school effectiveness. Sally’s ongoing research paper entitled “Measuring Ability Growth and Gaps in Adolescence and Early Adulthood” uses longitudinal panel data to examine the evolution of the black-white achievement gap in adolescence and early adulthood.
Ginger Lynn Stoker
Ginger Lynn Stoker is a third year doctoral student in the joint AM/PhD program in the joint AM/PhD program in the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS from Arizona State University, and its Barrett Honors College and holds an MA in Educational Psychology, with an emphasis in Measurement, Statistics, and Methodological Studies from the University of Arizona. At Arizona State University, Ms. Stoker held a Regent’s Academic Merit Scholarship and as a graduate student has held several Departmental Fellowships. Ms. Stoker has participated in several research studies, including an investigation of Title I teachers’ understanding and use of standardized test scores, a validity study of the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) tests, an examination of the Chicago Academic Standards Examinations (CASE), and an evaluation of California’s Early Steps program. Ginger recently finished a preliminary study on the effects of taking AP classes on academic outcomes of urban high school students and is moving forward to explore a more in-depth study on the same topic. Part of the current study will be the basis for her dissertation. Ginger is in the final stages of completing her dissertation proposal. Ginger Stoker is currently employed as a Research Assistant at the Consortium on Chicago School Research.
