Jennifer Sloan McCombs
Media Resources
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Education
Overview
Biography
Jennifer Sloan McCombs is a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation and a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Her education research focuses on improving outcomes for at-risk students—in particular, on evaluating the extent to which a variety of public policies and systems improve outcomes for at-risk students. Over the course of her career, she has studied how to improve teacher effectiveness (through professional development, teacher training, and incentives); implementation and impact of test-based promotion policies; the effects of federal accountability policies on schools, classrooms, and students; the development of systems for out-of-school-time programs; and the potential of summer learning programs to improve student achievement.
McCombs received her Ph.D. in public policy from The George Washington University.
Research Focus
Recent Projects
- Summer learning programs
- After-school programs
- Systems-building efforts
- New York City's test-based promotion policy
- Middle school reading coaches
Selected Publications
Jennifer Sloan McCombs et al., Hours of Opportunity: The Power of Data to Improve After-School Progrmas Citywide, RAND (MG-1037/1), 2010
Jennifer sloan McCombs et. al., Ending Social Promotion Without Leaving Children Behind, RAND Corporation (MG-894), 2009
Jennifer Sloan McCombs et al., Achieving State and National Literacy Goals a Long Uphill Road: A Report to Carnegie Corporation of New York, RAND Corporation (TR-180-1), 2005
Sheila Nataraj Kirby et al., Reforming Teacher Education: Something Old, Something New, RAND Corporation (MG-506), 2002
Recent Media Appearances
Interviews: Education Week
Education
Biography
Jennifer Sloan McCombs is a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. Her education research focuses on improving outcomes for at-risk students—in particular, on evaluating the extent to which a variety of public policies and systems improve outcomes for at-risk students. Over the course of her career, she has studied how to improve teacher effectiveness (through professional development, teacher training, and incentives); implementation and impact of test-based promotion policies; the effects of federal accountability policies on schools, classrooms, and students; the development of systems for out-of-school time programs; and the potential of summer learning programs to improve student achievement.
McCombs received her Ph.D. in public policy from The George Washington University.
Recent Projects
- Out-of-school-time systems building
- Summer learning opportunities
- New York City test-based promotion policy
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Making Extended Learning Time Worth the Investment — Dec 14, 2012