Haiwen Wang

Senior Principal Education Researcher and Evaluation Methods Lead, SRI Education

Haiwen Wang, PhD, has expertise in quantitative research methods and extensive experience leading the design and execution of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental designs (QEDs) for evaluations of programs in the fields of digital learning; science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM); teacher professional training; multilingual learner education; social and emotional learning (SEL); student writing; and school reform. Her research interests also include understanding moderating and mediating factors to program impact.

At SRI, Wang’s current work includes a number of federally funded RCTs and QEDs evaluating the impact and implementation of education programs, such as New Teacher Center’s Education Innovation and Research (EIR)-funded Expansion and Mid-phase grants, an EIR Expansion study of the UC Irvine Writing Project’s Pathway to Academic Success Program, and a National Science Foundation Discovery Research PreK-12 (DRK-12) study of MidSchoolMath’s EMPIRES online math game. Wang also co-leads SRI’s evaluation methods working group. 

Wang’s past research at SRI includes the following areas:

• Digital learning, such as ASSISTments Online Homework Support, DreamBox, Reasoning Mind online learning systems, and adoption of 1:1 technology for deeper learning
• Teacher professional development, including the New Teacher Center programs, the National Writing Project, and the Florida Master Teacher Initiative
• Education policy, including STEM high school systems in three states, and California’s English learner reclassification policy
• School reform, such as the Texas High School Project, and KIPP schools in the San Francisco Bay Area
• Curriculum evaluation, such as CoolThink@JC, a computational thinking curriculum implemented in Hong Kong

Before joining SRI, Wang worked for the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) at the University of California, Los Angeles. There, she participated in a series of studies evaluating different aspects of standard-based performance assessments and how different instructional interventions affect student performance on these assessments. Her previous work also includes evaluating the impact of grade retention and ability grouping/academic tracking on student achievement.

Wang has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, such as the American Educational Research Journal, AERA Open, Science Education, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, and Educational Assessment. She has also delivered numerous presentations at the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness and American Educational Research Association conferences.

Wang received her PhD and MA in quantitative research methods in education from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her BA in English from Tianjin University in China.

Key projects

• Evaluation of MidSchoolMath’s EMPIRES, a Collaborative, Online Mathematics Game for Middle School Students, funded by NSF DRK-12 grant.
• Evaluation of Catalyzing Innovations in Teacher Leader Development in Rural and Urban Settings, funded by an EIR Expansion grant.
• Advancing Social and Emotional Learning Integrated with Rigorous Content through a Whole-School Professional Learning Model, funded by an EIR Mid-phase grant.
• Evaluation of UC Irvine Writing Project’s Pathway to Academic Success Program, funded by an EIR Expansion grant
• A Comprehensive Model of Teacher Induction: Implementation and Impact on Teachers and Students Evaluation of the New Teacher Center’s i3 Validation Grant, Final Report
• Evaluation of the Florida Master Technical Initiative Final Evaluation Findings