Opinion Blog


Rick Hess Straight Up

Education policy maven Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute think tank offers straight talk on matters of policy, politics, research, and reform. Read more from this blog.

Policy & Politics Opinion

2022 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence: Top Tens

By Rick Hess — January 06, 2022 1 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Yesterday, we unveiled the 2022 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings. Of course, over the years, readers have also expressed an interest in how scholars fared when it came to particular fields of study. After all, education research includes a lot of people doing very different kinds of work. Consequently, where scholars rank overall may be less telling than where they rank within their field. Today, we’ll report on the top 10 finishers for five disciplinary categories. (For a detailed discussion of how the scoring was done, see Tuesday’s post.)

Now, there can be ambiguity when it comes to determining a given scholar’s discipline. For the most part, my eagle-eyed research assistants Tracey Schirra, Jessie McBirney, and Annika Nordquist worked off CVs, relying primarily on a scholar’s earned degree. In the handful of cases where that didn’t do the trick, I made a judgment call. If you think I’ve made the wrong call on someone, just let me know, and we’ll do our best to make appropriate adjustments next year.

You can scroll through each chart below.

The tables pretty much speak for themselves. The top finisher in Curriculum, Instruction, and Administration was Gloria Ladson-Billings; in Economics, Emily Oster; in Government and Policy, Paul E. Peterson; in Psychology, Angela Duckworth (Full disclosure: Angela blogs for Education Week); and, in Sociology, Pedro A. Noguera (Full disclosure: Pedro and I coauthored a book together this past year).

Well, that wraps up the 2022 Edu-Scholar Rankings. We’ll do this all again next year, same time, same place. Next week, we’ll return to our regularly scheduled programming.

For several years, following the release of the RHSU EduScholar Public Influence Rankings, Education Week Opinion has published a related series of essays that explore a pressing issue relevant to public scholarship. Read this year’s collection of essays, on how educators and researchers can work together to improve schools, here. While Education Week hosts the RHSU blog and publishes the rankings as a result, Education Week does not participate in the rankings process. The rankings are wholly an effort of Rick Hess and the RHSU selection committee.

Related Tags:

The opinions expressed in Rick Hess Straight Up are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Professional Development Webinar
Grow Leaders, Keep Teachers: Leadership Development as a Staffing Strategy
Find out how to turn leadership development into a staffing strategy and grow your next generation of school leaders from within.
Content provided by Frontline Education
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Teaching Webinar
Closing the Practice Gap: Essential Insights for Leaders
Three instructional experts will share strategies for making students’ reading and math practice more engaging and impactful this year.
Content provided by Renaissance

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Funding Trump Cut Their Education Grants. Here’s What Happened Next
Grantees whose work ground to a halt last year lament broken promises and abandoned projects.
15 min read
Dr. Stephanie Cross, a professor at Georgia State University, photographed in her home in Brookhaven, Georgia.
Stephanie Lee Behm Cross, a professor at Georgia State University, stands in her home in Brookhaven, Ga., on July 13, 2026. Cross ran a teacher-residency program funded by a U.S. Department of Education grant until the funding was abruptly terminated in February 2025.
Dustin Chambers for Education Week
Federal Senate Panel Advances Bill to Block Much of Trump Admin.’s Ed. Dept. Dismantling
The bill pushes back, but only partially, against Trump's efforts to end the 46-year-old department.
5 min read
DFreeman EDW CH 041
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., listens as Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., speaks during a Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee session on July 30, 2026 in the U.S. Capitol in Washington. The committee voted to advance a measure that would block many of the Trump administration's transfers of Education Department programs to other agencies.
Demetrius Freeman for Education Week
School Choice & Charters Vast Majority of Students Could Qualify for Trump's School Choice Program
Although most students are expected to be eligible, four factors will shape its ultimate size.
7 min read
CapitalCity004B
Seniors line up during their graduation rehearsal at the Capital City Public Charter School in Washington on June 11, 2026. A new analysis breaks down the number of students in each state who could qualify for financial awards under the new federal tax-credit scholarship program launching next year. The awards could cover private school tuition as well as certain expenses for traditional public and charter school students.
Marvin Joseph/Education Week
Law & Courts Wisconsin's Appeals Court Overturns Ruling That Had Restored Collective Bargaining Power
Unions are expected to appeal, sending the case to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which is controlled by liberal justices.
4 min read
FILE - A crowd fills the Wisconsin Capitol rotunda on the fifth day of labor demonstrations, Feb. 16, 2011, in Madison, Wis. Thousands came to protest the governor's proposal to eliminate collective bargaining for most public workers. Seven unions representing teachers and other public workers in Wisconsin filed a lawsuit Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023, attempting to end the state's near-total ban on collective bargaining for most public employees.
A crowd protesting legislation to significantly curb collective bargaining in Wisconsin fills the state Capitol rotunda on the fifth day of labor demonstrations on Feb. 16, 2011, in Madison, Wis. The proposal passed and has been in place for 15 years, and a lawsuit seeking to end it is now headed to the state's high court.
Craig Schreiner/Wisconsin State Journal via AP