Rebecca Herman

Senior Policy Researcher

Washington Office

Education

Ph.D. in sociology, Johns Hopkins University; M.A. in sociology, Johns Hopkins University; B.A. in English, Johns Hopkins University

Overview

Rebecca (Becki) Herman (she/her) is a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. She specializes in conducting and evaluating research on school leadership, comprehensive school reform, positive behavioral interventions, and related school, district, and higher education initiatives. Herman has helped set standards for and conducted critical reviews of research on educational programs, practices, and policies, and she is recognized for producing easily accessible products that resonate with practitioners, policymakers, and the public.

She has delivered congressional testimony, as well as dozens of invited presentations on school leadership, school turnaround, comprehensive school reform, the Every Student Succeeds Act, and evidence-based school improvement. She also has worked with the U.S. Air Force and Department of Defense to support the use of effective practices in personnel development.

Herman trained and served as a teacher early in her career. She earned her Ph.D. in sociology, specializing in education, at Johns Hopkins University.

Research Focus

Recent Projects

University Principal Preparation Initiative Evaluation
Complementaries between Restorative Justice and PBIS
School Leadership Evidence Review under ESSA
North Carolina Transformation Initiative
Understanding What Security Cooperation Officials Need to Know

Selected Publications

Gates, S.M., Woo, A., Xenakis, L., Wang, E.L., Herman, R., Andrew, M., & Todd, I. , Using state-level policy levers to promote principal quality: Lessons from seven state partnering with principal preparation programs and district., RAND (RR-A413-1), 2020

Wang, Elaine Lin, Gates, Susan M., Herman, Rebecca, Mean, Monica, Perera, Rachel, Tsai, Tiffany, Whipkey, Katie, and Andrew, Megan , Launching a redesign of university principal preparation programs: Partners collaborate for change. , RAND (RR-2612), 2018

Herman, R., Gates, S., Arifkhanova, A., Bega, A., Chavez-Herreria, E., Han, E., Harris, M., Leschitz, J., and Wrabel, S., School Leadership Interventions under the Every Student Succeeds Act: Evidence Review, RAND (RR-1550-2-WF), 2016

Wrabel, Stephani L., Herman, Rebecca, and Susan M. Gates , RAND school leadership intervention evaluation toolkit, RAND (TL-239), 2018

Mann, Elizabeth, Herman, Rebecca, and Hansen, Michael "Should they stay or should they go: The mythical appeal of staff replacement as a turnaround strategy," in Meyers, Coby and Darwin, Marlene, Enduring myths that inhibit school turnaround, Information Age Publishing, 2017

Herman, R., Hung, A.A., Burke, J., Carman, K.G., Clancy, N., Kaufman, J.H., and Wilson, K., A Tool for Reviewing K-12 Financial Education Curricula, RAND (TL-181-CFPB), 2015

Dragoset, L., James-Burdumy, S., Hallgren, K., Perez-Johnson, I., Herrmann, M., Tuttle, C., Angus, M.H., Herman, R., Murray, M., Tanenbaum, C., and Graczewski, C., Usage of Policies and Practices Promoted by Race to the Top, NCEE, 2015

Daugherty, Lindsay, Rebecca Herman, and Fatih Unlu , Logic models for selecting, designing, and implementing evidence-based school leadership interventions, RAND (TL-274), 2017

Commentary

Going Forward, Looking Back: Lessons from School Improvement Grants
The Every Student Succeeds Act takes effect this fall, returning significant power to states and local districts to set goals and prescribe strategies to lift achievement. As schools finalize their plans under the new law, they can learn from the shortcomings of School Improvement Grants.
May 10, 2017 The Hill
How States and Districts Can Leverage the Every Student Succeeds Act to Improve School Leadership
The Every Student Succeeds Act provides states and districts with new chances to invest in school leadership. A review of interventions can serve as a starting point to enact relevant solutions and build the evidence base for what works.
Dec 12, 2016 The RAND Blog
Improving School Leadership: What Works
There is evidence that having strong school leaders is instrumental for improving the quality of teaching. But resource constraints and pressure to spend money directly on students have left interventions focused on principals largely overlooked. However, the new Every Student Succeeds Act may be changing the script.
Apr 28, 2016 The RAND Blog
Reauthorizing ESEA: What We Know and Where We Should Go with School Improvement
Federal policy should ensure that school improvement is a priority, that schools adopt proven reforms that fit the school context, and that schools and their districts are held accountable when federal resources are used for school improvement.
Feb 11, 2015 The RAND Blog

Publications

Report
Collaborating on University Principal Preparation Program Redesign: A Summary of Findings for University Principal Preparation Program Providers (Volume 3, Part 3)
University-based principal preparation programs (PPPs) prepare the majority of U.S. school principals. This targeted report shares findings from a study of an initiative to support improvements to PPPs, with an emphasis on findings for other PPPs.
Jun 20, 2022
Report
District Partnerships with University Principal Preparation Programs: A Summary of Findings for School District Leaders (Volume 3, Part 4)
This report shares findings from the RAND Corporation's five-year study of The Wallace Foundation's University Principal Preparation Initiative, with an emphasis on findings for school district leaders.
Jun 20, 2022
Report
State Partnerships with University Principal Preparation Programs: A Summary of Findings for State Policymakers (Volume 3, Part 5)
This report shares findings from the RAND Corporation's five-year study of The Wallace Foundation's University Principal Preparation Initiative, with an emphasis on findings for state policymakers.
Jun 20, 2022
Report
Redesigning University Principal Preparation Programs: A Systemic Approach for Change and Sustainability — Full Report (Volume 3, Part 1)
University-based principal preparation programs prepare the majority of U.S. school principals. This report described the methodology of and findings from a five-year study of an initiative designed to support improvements to such programs.
May 26, 2022
Report
Redesigning University Principal Preparation Programs: A Systemic Approach for Change and Sustainability — Report in Brief (Volume 3, Part 2)
University-based principal preparation programs prepare the majority of our country's school principals. This report shares findings from a five-year study of an initiative designed to support improvements to such programs.
May 26, 2022
Tool
School Turnaround Cost Analysis Tool
Some popular approaches to supporting low-performing schools include helping schools collect and use data to guide their planning. This tool helps education leaders assess potential costs of some of the more popular and research-supported approaches.
Sep 9, 2021
Report
Defense Security Cooperation University Expert Course of Instruction: Content, Design, Implementation
To develop an expert-level course of instruction for military and civilian security cooperation professionals, the authors of this report identify the needed knowledge and skills and the pedagogical methods that best cultivate them.
Dec 1, 2020
Report
Using State-Level Policy Levers to Promote Principal Quality: Lessons from Seven States Partnering with Principal Preparation Programs and Districts
The authors examine how seven states are using state-level policy levers to improve the quality of school principals.
Nov 17, 2020
Report
Optimizing the Contributions of Air Force Civilian STEM Workforce
RAND researchers reviewed existing academic and professional literature to gain insights into how organizations such as the Air Force should manage, support, and organize their civilian STEM workforce to best leverage talent and maximize performance.
Mar 23, 2020
Report
Improving 21st Century Skills in the U.S. Air Force
For a 21st century workforce, you need 21st century skills. The authors of this Perspective offer recommendations to the U.S. Air Force to use lessons learned in different sectors to develop a strategy for airmen to learn and use 21st century skills.
Dec 2, 2019
Report
Launching a Redesign of University Principal Preparation Programs: Partners Collaborate for Change: Executive Summary
The University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI) supports the redesign of principal preparation programs according to evidence-based principles and practices. This executive summary provides insight into the first year of UPPI implementation.
Oct 30, 2018
Report
Launching a Redesign of University Principal Preparation Programs: Partners Collaborate for Change
The University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI) supports the redesign of principal preparation programs according to evidence-based principles and practices. This report provides insight into the first year of UPPI implementation.
Oct 30, 2018
Tool
RAND School Leadership Intervention Evaluation Toolkit
This toolkit is a companion to School Leadership Interventions Under the Every Student Succeeds Act: An Evidence Review. The authors provide guidance and tools for designing and conducting evaluations of school leadership interventions.
Feb 7, 2018
Tool
Logic Models for Selecting, Designing, and Implementing Evidence-Based Leadership Interventions: Companion Guide to School Leadership Interventions Under the Every Student Succeeds Act
This guide describes six types of school leadership interventions, summarizes common components of evidence-based interventions, and unpacks the relationships between the intervention activities and student outcomes.
Dec 14, 2017
Report
School Leadership Interventions Under the Every Student Succeeds Act: Evidence Review: Updated and Expanded
This updated report presents a synthesis of the evidence base on school leadership interventions and describes the opportunities for supporting such interventions under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
Dec 14, 2017
Report
Can the Air Force and Airlines Collaborate for Mutual Benefit? An Exploration of Pilot and Maintenance Workforce Options
This report explores ways the Air Force and commercial airlines could collaborate on issues related to their pilot and maintenance workforces by evaluating benefits, costs, and feasibility from the perspectives of both sides.
Apr 21, 2016
Report
Development of a K–12 Financial Education Curriculum Assessment Rubric
RAND researchers document the current state of the literature and advance a set of criteria for assessing the content, utility, quality, and efficacy of K-12 financial education curricula.
Nov 5, 2015
Tool
A Tool for Reviewing K–12 Financial Education Curricula
To help educators think about which curriculum to use, and to better understand the strengths and gaps in the curriculum currently being used, the RAND Corporation developed this tool for reviewing financial education curricula.
Nov 5, 2015