Kyra Caspary

Kyra Caspary, Ph.D., a senior researcher in the Center for Education Policy, focuses on understanding the effects of educational programs and interventions on student learning and educational equity. She is experienced in survey design and analysis, measurement, evaluation design, the use of administrative data, and qualitative data collection and analysis.

Caspary currently is overseeing an analysis of student outcomes and student surveys for SRI’s evaluation of ConnectEd’s California Linked Learning District Initiative. This is a multiyear study of an effort to transform high schools districtwide through programs of study that integrate rigorous academic instruction with a demanding technical curriculum and work-based learning. She leads the student outcomes portion of a study of the Early Academic Outreach Program, the largest outreach program operated by the University of California to increase college-going opportunities for underserved student populations. She is also completing an analysis of teacher and principal surveys as part of National Study of the Teacher Incentive Fund, a federal program to increase the use of financial incentives for school administrators and teachers.

Caspary’s past SRI project work includes a study of new teacher induction in the Midwest, a comprehensive study of the teaching workforce in California, analysis of college attendance and bachelor’s degree attainment among International Baccalaureate students, and an analysis of secondary data to evaluate the effectiveness of online learning at the K–12 level.

Before joining SRI, Caspary conducted research on undergraduate admissions policy for the University of California system and managed the University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey, an online survey of all enrolled UC undergraduates. As a researcher at Policy Analysis for California Education, she directed the qualitative portion of a mixed-methods study of professional development and retention programs for early childhood educators in two California counties. She began her career in education coordinating a volunteer-based tutoring program for the Austin Independent School District Office of Community Education.

Caspary earned her Ph.D. in education from the University of California, Berkeley. She holds a master’s degree from UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia.