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

Jobs Regional K-12 Virtual Career Fair: DMV
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
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
Student Well-Being & Movement Webinar
Building Resilient Students: Leadership Beyond the Classroom
How can schools build resilient, confident students? Join education leaders to explore new strategies for leadership and well-being.
Content provided by IMG Academy
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
College & Workforce Readiness Webinar
Blueprints for the Future: Engineering Classrooms That Prepare Students for Careers
Explore how to build career-ready engineering programs in your high school with hands-on, real-world learning strategies.
Content provided by Project Lead The Way

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 A School Wants a Tornado Shelter. A Federal Grant Keeps Getting in the Way
The district still can't spend a FEMA grant it was originally awarded in 2022.
9 min read
FemaGrant Maiorella 02
A new gym under construction in Wisconsin's Cuba City school district, pictured April 16, 2026, would have also served as a tornado shelter, thanks to an $8.8 million FEMA grant. But nearly four years after it was awarded the grant, the district still doesn't have the money.
Arthur Maiorella for Education Week
Federal Trump Admin. Doesn't Deem Education Degrees 'Professional' in Student Loan Rule
The regulation confirms new limits on graduate student borrowing under Trump's major policy bill.
3 min read
Financial literacy and education concept. A woman looks up at a broken ladder to knowledge.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + iStock/Getty
States A Bus Driver Blacked Out. Middle School Students Prevented a Crash
A group of Mississippi students grabbed the wheel and hit the brakes after their driver passed out on a highway.
1 min read
Five middle school students, who helped stop a bus after their driver passed out during a medical emergency, stand outside a bus in Hancock County, Miss., on Thursday, April 23, 2026.
Five middle school students, who helped stop a bus after their driver passed out during a medical emergency, stand outside a bus in Hancock County, Miss., on Thursday, April 23, 2026.
WLOX via AP
Every Student Succeeds Act These States Want to Move Away From a 'College for All' Approach to Testing
Two states have pitched changes to their high school assessments to emphasize workforce preparation.
7 min read
The Plumbing department, located in the school's well-equipped shop facility, alongside other trades including masonry and carpentry.
The plumbing department in a New Jersey technology high school. As the Trump administration invites states to request waivers from federal school accountability requirements, two have proposed changes that would emphasize career-oriented tests as opposed to more traditional academic knowledge tests.
Oliver Farshi for Education Week