Marjorie Wechsler

Marjorie Wechsler, Ph.D., is a senior researcher in SRI’s Center for Education Policy. She has more than 20 years of experience working on national, state, and local research and evaluation projects. She specializes in teacher development, school- and district-level reform, and systems approaches to educational improvement. She has expertise in managing complex multisite evaluations and using qualitative and quantitative research methods, including experimental and quasi-experimental designs.

Currently, Wechsler is co-principal investigator of the evaluation of the Florida Master Teacher Initiative, an Investing in Innovation (i3) grant. The program is creating master teachers through a job-embedded master’s degree program with an early-childhood education specialization, promoting teacher inquiry and improved instruction through the Teacher Fellows program, and improving leadership through the Principal Fellows program. The evaluation, designed to determine the initiative’s impact on PreK–3 instruction and student achievement, combines an experimental randomized controlled design with a formative evaluation and includes teacher surveys, teacher observations, interviews, and student achievement data.

Wechsler is also co-principal investigator of the evaluation of the McKnight Foundation’s Education and Learning Initiative, an effort to improve the literacy achievement of students in the Twin Cities through pathways that integrate and enhance PreK–3 literacy education. The evaluation seeks to formatively support the development and refinement of the program and measure its effectiveness in developing proficient third-grade readers. The formative evaluation uses a multimethod approach involving case studies, teacher observations, and teacher logs. In the impact evaluation, a longitudinal quasi-experimental study is being used to track literacy skill growth from preschool to second grade and a cross-sectional study is being used to examine third-grade reading test scores over time.

Wechsler is the project director for the evaluation of National Science Foundation’s Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program, which aims to strengthen the formal and informal learning experiences of K–12 students to cultivate their interest in and capacities for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. The evaluation is designed to characterize the ITEST projects, understand their impacts, and determine which project models are most effective in delivering desired student and teacher outcomes. Research activities are an analysis of the ITEST portfolio, including a review of project evaluations, and case studies.

In previous research, Wechsler has studied a multitude of reform models. She was principal investigator of a study of the University of Florida’s Lastinger Center for Learning school improvement model. She was co-principal investigator of the Evaluation of Ready Schools Florida, which documented the implementation and outcomes of a systems change effort to create a comprehensive and effective early learning system from birth through fifth grade. She also was co-principal investigator of the evaluation of College Bound, a randomized trial to assess an online curriculum and coaching program to build parents’ knowledge about how to encourage skill development in their children.

Wechsler received her Ph.D. in education administration and policy analysis at Stanford University. Before working in education policy analysis, Wechsler earned her elementary teaching credential and taught kindergarten.