Jack Schneider is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at UMass Lowell.

Jack Schneider, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

College
Fine Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
Department
School of Education
Office
Coburn Hall - 240c

Expertise

Education Policy, School Reform, Measurement and Accountability, History of Education

Research Interests

Educational Policy; Education Reform; Measuring School Quality; Accountability; Public Attitudes; Standardized Testing; Teacher Knowledge; Research-to-Practice Connections; History of Education

Education

  • Ph.D.: History of Education, (2010), Stanford University - Stanford CA
  • MA: American History, (2007), Stanford University - Stanford CA
  • BA: Political Science, (2002), Haverford College - Haverford, PA

Biosketch

Jack Schneider, Ph.D., is a historian and policy analyst who studies the influence of politics, rhetoric, culture, and information in shaping attitudes and behaviors. His research examines how educators, policymakers, and the public develop particular views about what is true, what is effective, and what is important. Drawing on a diverse mix of methodological approaches, he has written about measurement and accountability, segregation and school choice, teacher preparation and pedagogy, and the relationship between research and practice. His current work, on how school quality is conceptualized and quantified, has been supported by the Spencer Foundation and the Massachusetts State Legislature. The author of five books, Schneider is a regular contributor to outlets like the Washington Post and the Atlantic, and co-hosts the education policy podcast Have You Heard. He is also the co-founder of the Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Education Assessment and the Executive Director of the Education Commonwealth Project.

Selected Awards and Honors

  • Fellow (2020-Present), Scholarship/Research - National Education Policy Center
  • Friend of Education Award (2021), Massachusetts Teachers Association
  • Teaching Excellence Award (2020), Teaching - University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • PROSE Award (2018), Scholarship/Research - Association of American Publishers
  • Stanford Graduate Fellowship (2005), Scholarship/Research - Stanford University

Selected Publications

  • Schneider, J. Hutt, E.L. (2023). Off the Mark: How Grades, Ratings, and Rankings Undermine Learning (But Don’t Have To). Harvard University Press.
  • Schneider, J. Berkshire, J. (2020). A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door: The Dismantling of Public Education and the Future of School. The New Press
  • Schneider, J. (2017). Beyond Test Scores: A Better Way to Measure School Quality. Harvard University Press
  • Schneider, J. (2014). From the Ivory Tower to the Schoolhouse: How Scholarship Becomes Common Knowledge in Education. Harvard Education Press
  • Schneider, J. (2011). Excellence For All: How a New Breed of Reformers Is Transforming America's Public Schools. Vanderbilt University Press

Selected Contracts, Fellowships, Grants and Sponsored Research

  • Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Education Assessment (2019), Grant - Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
    Schneider, J. (Co-Investigator)
  • Using Data to Empower Communities (2020), Grant - Massachusetts Teachers Association
    Schneider, J. (Principal)
  • Beyond Test Scores (2019), Grant - Center for Collaborative Education
    Schneider, J. (Principal)
  • Historical Perspectives on School Reform (2019), Grant - Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
    Schneider, J. (Principal)
  • Lesson Study in Japan (2019), Grant - Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation
    Schneider, J. (Principal)
  • Rethinking Data Use in Measuring Teacher Education Programs (2018), Contract - Westfield State University
    Schneider, J. (Principal)
  • Beyond Test Scores (2018), Grant - Center for Collaborative Education
    Schneider, J. (Principal)