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Influence: A Study of the Factors Shaping Education Policy

May 26, 2010 2 min read
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Bill Gates, Congress, and NAEP Top Study of Influence

The Editorial Projects in Education Research Center’s new study, Influence: A Study of the Factors Shaping Education Policy, has identified Bill Gates as the most influential person in education policy over the past decade. The study, based on a two-stage survey of education experts from across the country, also identified the United States Congress as the most influential organization in education policy. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) was found to be both the most influential research study, and information source of the past decade. Read the full report to find out who else made the list of “Influentials.”

• Read the complete report: Influence: A Study of the Factors Shaping Education Policy
• Read the executive summary

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• Influential People
• Influential Organizations
• Influential Information Sources
• Influential Research Studies

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Chat Transcript: The Power of Influence

On Dec. 20, Kati Haycock, executive director of The Education Trust, Chester E. Finn Jr., president of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, and Christopher B. Swanson, director of Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, discussed the most influential people, organizations, research studies, and information sources in education policy over the past 10 years.

Read the full transcript.

Influence Profiles

The rankings by influence score for people, organizations, information sources, and research studies: (Click on an item to download an individual influence report in PDF format; a new window will open.)

Influential People

1. Bill Gates
2. George W. Bush
3. Kati Haycock
4. G. Reid Lyon
5. Edward Kennedy
6. Bill Clinton
7. (tie) Richard W. Riley
7. (tie)James B. Hunt Jr.
9. Marshall (Mike) Smith
10. (tie) Linda Darling-Hammond
10. (tie) Margaret Spellings
12. George Miller
13. Chester E. Finn, Jr.

Influential Organizations

1. U.S. Congress
2. U.S. Department of Education
3. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
4. Education Trust
5. National Governors Association
6. American Federation of Teachers
7. (tie) Achieve, Inc.
7. (tie) National Education Assocation
9. Thomas B. Fordham Foundation
10. Center on Education Policy

Influential Information Sources

1. NAEP
2. Education Week
3. National Center for Education Statistics
4. New York Times
5. U.S. Department of Education
6. Education Trust
7. Washington Post
8. (tie) Education Next,
8. (tie) Public Education Network Weekly Newsblast
10. Education Gadfly
11. Eduwonk

Influential Research Studies

1. NAEP
2. Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)
3. Teaching Children To Read
4. Tennessee Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR)
5. (tie) Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children
5. (tie) William L. Sanders on value-added methodology and the Tennessee Value-Added Accountability System
7. (tie) Education Trust on teacher quality
7. (tie) How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School
7. (tie) What Matters Most: Teaching for America’s Future
10. Richard F. Elmore on school reform
11. Jay P. Greene on high school graduation rates
12. (tie) Paul E. Peterson on school choice and vouchers
12. (tie) Ready or Not: Creating a High School Diploma that Counts-->

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