Sy Doan

Associate Policy Researcher

Washington Office

Education

Ph.D. in K–12 educational leadership and policy studies, Vanderbilt University; B.A. in English, University of Notre Dame

Overview

Sy Doan (he/his) is an associate policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. His research uses quantitative methods to study K–12 education policy, with current work in educator effectiveness, educator professional development, educator use of instructional materials, and K–12 education finance. He works extensively with the American Educator Panels, where he conducts research on issues facing K–12 educators and students using the American Instructional Resources Survey, the Learn Together Survey, and the State of the American Teacher and State of the American Principal Surveys. In addition to these topics, he is interested in research on K–12 students' post-secondary and labor force transition and student access to diverse and culturally responsive educators and teaching practices. Prior to joining RAND, he earned his Ph.D. in education leadership and policy at Vanderbilt University.

Research Focus

Recent Projects

The American Instructional Resources Survey (AIRS)
The Learn Together Survey (LTS)
Evaluation of Delaware's Opportunity Funding and Student Success Block Grant Programs

Selected Publications

Doan, S., Schweig, J.D., & Mihaly, K., "The consistency of composite ratings of teacher effectiveness: Evidence from New Mexico," American Educational Research Journal, 56(6), 2019

Joshi, E.H., Doan, S., & Springer, M.G., "Student-teacher race congruence: New evidence and insight from Tennessee," AERA Open, 4(4), 2019

Rogers, L.K. & Doan, S., "The magnitude of student sorting for new-to-assignment teachers," Elementary School Journal, 120(2), 2020

Commentary

Teachers and Teaching

Keeping Teachers of Color in the Classroom Will Take More Than a Pay Raise
All students—but particularly Black and Latinx students—benefit academically and socially from having teachers who are people of color. Policymakers and education leaders can help these teachers stay in the profession by making teaching more financially sustainable and fostering collegial relationships within school communities.
Dec 1, 2022
Word in Black
Workplace Well-Being

Will Teachers Quit? What Surveys Can and Can't Tell Us
There is no single source for reliable current data about teacher and principal turnover or job openings, so it's understandable that journalists rely on survey data to monitor the health of the teacher and principal workforce. But media coverage that focuses only on the connection, or lack thereof, between teachers' intentions to leave and actual turnover stands the risk of minimizing the clearly stated dissatisfaction that educators are expressing.
Aug 11, 2022
The Grade

Publications

Report
Evaluation of Delaware's Opportunity Funding and Student Success Block Grant Programs: Third and Final Year
The authors evaluated two Delaware programs for local education agencies with students experiencing poverty and multilingual learners during the 2019–2020 to 2021–2022 school years: Opportunity Funding and the Student Success Block Grant program.
Feb 7, 2023
Report
Flexible Opportunity Funding Investments in Delaware: Lessons from District Leaders
The authors drew on surveys of Delaware local education agencies that received Opportunity Funding and describe the investments they made to improve the academic achievement of multilingual learners and students experiencing poverty.
Feb 7, 2023
Report
American Instructional Resources Surveys: 2022 Technical Documentation and Survey Results
This technical report provides information about the sample, survey instruments, and resultant data for the American Instructional Resources Surveys that were administered to principals and teachers in spring 2022 via RAND's American Educator Panels.
Nov 15, 2022
Report
What K–12 English Language Arts and Mathematics Instructional Materials Were Newly Purchased and Used for the 2021–2022 School Year? Findings from the 2022 American Instructional Resources Survey
In this report, the authors build on previous research by drawing on nationally representative survey data from English language arts and mathematics teachers to better understand teachers' use of new instructional materials.
Nov 15, 2022
Report
Learn Together Surveys: 2022 Technical Documentation and Survey Results
This report provides information about the sample, survey instrument, and resultant data for the 2022 Learn Together Surveys that were administered to K-12 principals and teachers in March 2022 via the RAND Corporation's American Educator Panels.
Nov 3, 2022
Report
Prioritizing Strategies to Racially Diversify the K–12 Teacher Workforce: Findings from the State of the American Teacher and State of the American Principal Surveys
The authors of this report surveyed and interviewed teachers and convened a panel of education policymakers to identify policies and strategies that could help racially diversify the teacher workforce in the United States.
Sep 20, 2022
Report
National Guard Youth ChalleNGe: Program Progress in 2020–2021
The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program serves young people experiencing difficulty in traditional high school. This report documents program trends in 2020–2021 and presents analyses on the Job ChalleNGe program.

Aug 22, 2022
Report
Walking a Fine Line—Educators' Views on Politicized Topics in Schooling: Findings from the State of the American Teacher and State of the American Principal Surveys
Using nationally representative survey data, the authors analyze educators' views on two politicized issues—COVID-19 mitigation policies and teaching about race, racism, or bias—to better understand the consequences of politicization in schools.
Aug 10, 2022
Report
Creating Conditions for Teachers' Use of High-Quality Instructional Materials: A Research, Policy, and Practice Conversation
In this webinar, RAND researchers and state department of education officials in Delaware and Mississippi discuss the work that states and districts are doing to encourage and support the use of high-quality materials.
Aug 4, 2022
Report
Restoring Teacher and Principal Well-Being Is an Essential Step for Rebuilding Schools: Findings from the State of the American Teacher and State of the American Principal Surveys
Researchers present selected findings on teacher and principal well-being, working conditions, and intentions to leave their jobs from the 2022 State of the American Teacher and State of the American Principal surveys.
Jun 15, 2022
Report
State of the American Teacher and State of the American Principal Surveys: 2022 Technical Documentation and Survey Results
This technical report on the 2022 State of the American Teacher and State of the American Principal surveys includes descriptions of the survey content, administration, and weighting and detailed data tables of the survey results.
Jun 15, 2022
Draft
Measuring School Poverty Matters, but How Should We Measure It? Comparing Results of Survey Analyses Conducted Using Various Measures of School Poverty
Explores the relationship between school-level free or reduced-price lunch rates and alternative measures of school and community poverty and how these measures compare to one another as explanatory variables and covariates in analyses.
Jun 8, 2022
Report
How States Are Creating Conditions for Use of High-Quality Instructional Materials in K–12 Classrooms: Findings from the 2021 American Instructional Resources Survey
In this report, the authors examine adoption and use of instructional materials using survey self-reports from teachers across the United States and from a network of states that is focused on improving use of standards-aligned materials.
Jun 7, 2022
Report
A Snapshot of Anti-Bias Education in U.S. K–12 Schools: Findings from the 2021 American Instructional Resources Surveys
RAND researchers leverage nationally representative survey data of kindergarten through 12th grade (K–12) public school teachers to examine whether teachers report providing anti-bias education and what anti-bias education looks like in K–12 schools.
Feb 22, 2022
Report
Evaluation of Delaware's Opportunity Funding and Student Success Block Grant Programs: Second Year
This is the second of three annual reports evaluating the implementation and effects of two Delaware funding programs for disadvantaged K–12 schools in the 2019–2020 to 2021–2022 school years: Opportunity Funding and the Student Success Block Grant.
Jan 27, 2022
Multimedia
The Rise of Standards-Aligned Materials for English Language Arts and Math Instruction: Findings from the American Instructional Resources Survey
Experts from the RAND Corporation and EdReports share new data from a national teacher survey during this one-hour webinar on some factors that may be leading to increases in use of standards-aligned instructional materials across the United States.
Dec 2, 2021
Report
Use, Capture, and Value of Student Voice in Schools: Findings from the 2021 Learn Together Surveys
Using nationally representative response data from the 2021 Learn Together Surveys, the authors examine the extent to which secondary teachers and school leaders take student voice into account in their practices at the classroom and school levels.
Nov 17, 2021
Report
Identifying Supports for Struggling Students: Findings from the 2021 Learn Together Surveys
Using nationally representative response data from the 2021 Learn Together Surveys, the authors examine how secondary teachers leverage different types of information to guide them to the supports and interventions that they use in the classroom.
Nov 2, 2021
Report
Learn Together Surveys: 2021 Technical Documentation and Survey Results
This report provides information about the sample, survey instrument, and results data for the 2021 Learn Together Surveys that were administered to secondary principals and teachers in March 2021 via the RAND Corporation's American Educator Panels.
Nov 2, 2021
Report
American Instructional Resources Surveys: 2021 Technical Documentation and Survey Results
This technical report provides information about the sample, survey instrument, and resultant data for the American Instructional Resources Surveys administered to principals and teachers in spring 2021 via RAND's American Educator Panels.
Oct 26, 2021
Report
The Rise of Standards-Aligned Instructional Materials for U.S. K–12 Mathematics and English Language Arts Instruction: Findings from the 2021 American Instructional Resources Survey
The authors examine the use of standards-aligned curriculum materials for kindergarten through 12th grade mathematics and English language arts instruction among public school teachers across the United States.
Oct 26, 2021
Research Brief
Supporting Principals to Lead on the Selection and Use of Instructional Materials in Classrooms
This brief discusses findings from several RAND reports on principals' roles with respect to instructional materials. Recommendations describe how stakeholders can prepare and support principals to lead in selecting and using instructional materials.
Jul 19, 2021
Report
Did Experience with Digital Instructional Materials Help Teachers Implement Remote Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic?
Researchers examine teachers' use of digital materials during the 2019–2020 school year, whether digital materials connected to main curricula, and how the use of digital materials before the pandemic connected to teaching during school closures.
May 4, 2021
Report
Changing the Subject: K–12 Teachers' Use of and Access to Science-Specific Instructional Materials, Feedback, and Professional Learning
In this Data Note, researchers use the 2020 American Instructional Resources Survey to examine how teachers' science instruction is supported and whether supports differ from those that teachers reported for English language arts and math.
Apr 21, 2021
Report
Teachers' Lesson Modifications for Students with Disabilities: Findings from the 2020 American Instructional Resources Survey
In this Data Note, researchers explore teachers' reports of how much and in what ways they modify their lessons to support students with disabilities.
Feb 23, 2021
Report
Do Teachers Perceive That Their Main Instructional Materials Meet English Learners' Needs? Key Findings from the 2020 American Instructional Resources Survey
In this Data Note, researchers draw on data from the spring 2020 American Instructional Resources Survey to examine teachers' perceptions of how their main materials meet the needs of English learners.
Jan 27, 2021
Report
Evaluation of Delaware's Opportunity Funding and Student Success Block Grant Programs: Early Implementation
The authors examine the 2019-2020 implementation of two newly expanded Delaware weighted education funding programs, the Opportunity Fund and Student Success Block Grant, and emerging best practices, as reported by local education agency leaders.
Jan 21, 2021
Report
Teachers' Perceptions of What Makes Instructional Materials Engaging, Appropriately Challenging, and Usable: A Survey and Interview Study
In this report, the authors examine how middle and high school English language arts and mathematics teachers use and perceive their instructional materials in terms of how engaging, challenging, and usable they are.
Jan 14, 2021
Report
American Instructional Resources Surveys: 2020 Technical Documentation and Survey Results
This technical report provides information about the sample, survey instrument, and resultant data for the American Instructional Resources Surveys administered to principals and teachers in spring 2020 via RAND's American Educator Panels.
Sep 24, 2020
Report
The Digital Divide and COVID-19: Teachers' Perceptions of Inequities in Students' Internet Access and Participation in Remote Learning
Researchers investigate the relationship between teachers' reports of students' internet access and their interaction with students and families during school closures related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Sep 24, 2020
Report
How Instructional Materials Are Used and Supported in U.S. K–12 Classrooms: Findings from the 2019 American Instructional Resources Survey
New results from the RAND American Instructional Resources Survey, which was fielded to a national sample of public teachers and school leaders in spring 2019, shed light on how teachers use instructional materials in their classroom.
Aug 31, 2020
Report
Taking Stock of Principal Pipelines: What Public School Districts Report Doing and What They Want to Do to Improve School Leadership
The authors share new findings about the about the presence and potential importance of principal pipeline activities for preparing, hiring, supporting, and evaluating school leaders across the United States as reported by district administrators.
Jun 23, 2020
Report
Digital Instructional Materials: What Are Teachers Using and What Barriers Exist?
This Data Note draws on data from the spring 2019 American Instructional Resources Survey to provide new insights from English language arts, math, and science teachers on their use of digital materials.
Apr 16, 2020
Report
Teachers' Use of Intervention Programs: Who Uses Them and How Context Matters
In this Data Note, researchers explore the prevalence of teachers' use of intervention programs, which are designed to help students performing below grade level. Researchers also explore how teachers' use of such programs may vary by school context.
Mar 19, 2020
Report
American Instructional Resources Survey: 2019 Technical Documentation and Survey Results
This technical report provides information about the sample, survey instrument, and resultant data for the American Instructional Resources Surveys administered to principals and teachers in spring 2019 via RAND's American Educator Panels.
Feb 27, 2020
Journal Article
Relationships Between Teaching Practices and Student Outcomes
This chapter explores how the three domains of mathematics teaching explored in prior chapters are related to three different student outcome measures.
2020
Report
Beyond Achievement: How Teachers Affect Outcomes Other than Test Scores
Research shows that teachers matter for both test and nontest score outcomes. Teachers who excel at raising test scores do not necessarily excel at improving other outcomes.
Dec 4, 2019
Journal Article
The Consistency of Composite Ratings of Teacher Effectiveness: Evidence From New Mexico
We estimate the consistency of composite ratings of teacher quality from New Mexico's teacher evaluation system from 2015 to 2016.
2019