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

2024 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence: Top 10 Lists

Here are the top 10 scholars, ranked by their disciplines
By Rick Hess — January 05, 2024 1 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Yesterday, we unveiled the 2024 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings. Of course, education research includes a lot of people doing very different kinds of work. Thus, over the years, readers have been intensely interested in how scholars fared within particular fields of study. 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 Wednesday’s post.)

Now, there can be ambiguity when it comes to determining a given scholar’s discipline. For the most part, my research assistants work off of CVs, relying primarily on a scholar’s degree. In the handful of cases where that didn’t suffice, I made a judgment call. If you think I’ve made the wrong call on someone, 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 Jo Boaler; in Economics, Raj Chetty; in Government and Policy, Paul Peterson; in Psychology, Howard Gardner; and, in Sociology, Pedro Noguera. (Full disclosure: Noguera and I co-authored A Search for Common Ground in 2021 and jointly hosted the “Common Ground” podcast during 2021 and 2022.)

Well, that wraps up the 2024 Edu-Scholar Rankings. Next week, we’ll return to our regularly scheduled programming.

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
College & Workforce Readiness Webinar
From Student Trends to Counselor Action: Turning Insight Into Impact
Find out what is changing in how students approach planning for life after graduation and how schools can help.
Content provided by PowerSchool
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
School & District Management Webinar
McKinney-Vento Transportation Strategies: Managing Cost & Protecting Access
Explore McKinney-Vento transportation strategies to manage costs, respond quickly to changing needs, and protect student access.
Content provided by HopSkipDrive
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
Families & the Community Webinar
Celebrate Family Engagement Day With Strategies That Work
Join National PTA and AASA to explore practical systems-wide family engagement strategies in celebration of National Family Engagement Day.

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

States Results: How Will the 2026 Midterms Reshape Schools?
Look up each state and the outcomes of key 2026 contests with implications for K-12 schools.
1 min read
A supporter of Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Crowley touches an "I voted" sticker at an election night event Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Milwaukee.
A supporter of Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Crowley touches an "I voted" sticker at an election night event Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Milwaukee. Education Week tracked ballot contests across the country with implications for K-12 policymaking.
Nam Y. Huh/AP
Federal What a Trump Admin. Review of Civil Rights Guidance May Mean for Schools
The Education and Justice departments say seven guidance documents "are no longer enforceable."
6 min read
A hat with the word 'VETO' on it sits on the Resolute Desk as President Donald Trump speaks after signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, in Washington.
A hat with the word "VETO" on it sits on the Resolute Desk as President Donald Trump speaks after signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, in Washington. The U.S. Department of Education under Trump has begun a review of civil rights guidance documents issued during the Obama and Biden administrations.
Alex Brandon/AP
States How the Midterm Results Could Reshape Some States' Reading Policies
Newly elected Democratic governors say raising literacy achievement is a priority.
8 min read
Elliott Hart, 4, smiles at her dad, Michael Hart, on Oct. 29, 2026 while wearing a sticker on her face during a Get Out the Vote rally for Ohio Democrats. including Amy Acton, candidate for governor, Thursday, October 29, 2026, at the UAW Local 12 Union Hall in Toledo, Ohio.
Elliott Hart, 4, smiles at her dad, Michael Hart, on Oct. 29, 2026 while wearing a sticker on her face during rally for Ohio Democrats. Amy Acton, who won the governorship in the state, has vowed to keep the state's focus on literacy and expand it.
Jeremy Wadsworth/The Blade via AP
School Choice & Charters After Elections, Democrats Will Run School Choice Programs They've Blasted
Democrats have criticized school choice for a long time. Now, they'll be in charge of some big programs.
6 min read
Democratic Texas gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa speaks to supporters at an election night event in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026.
Texas Gov.-Elect Gina Hinojosa speaks to supporters at an election night event in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. The Democrat pledged to repeal her state's private school choice program while on the campaign trail.
Ashley Landis/AP