Kirby Chow, PhD, specializes in the academic achievement and social and emotional well-being of children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. She uses qualitative and quantitative methods to research and evaluate education programs and interventions.

Chow has extensive experience leading early childhood research projects, including a 4-year evaluation of the Virginia Preschool Initiative – Plus (VPI+), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)-funded research study of Arkansas’ implementation of early childhood suspension and expulsion reduction policies, and a foundation-funded research study of local early childhood systems building efforts in Virginia. As project director for these projects, she leads project management activities, overseeing field data collectors, developing survey and interview protocols, and collecting and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data.

Chow also leads randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies of the efficacy of programs intended to improve school safety and positive approaches to behavior management. She is the project director of an Institute of Education Sciences-funded efficacy study of Discipline in the Secondary Classroom, a classroom management program. She also managed the quantitative analysis and reporting for a National Institute of Justice-funded evaluation of the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District’s implementation of the Safe & Civil Schools Foundations Program in middle and high schools.

Chow was the co-principal investigator for a Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Appalachia study examining the tools and approaches states use to measure implementation of response to intervention (RTI) and multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS). Findings from this descriptive study supported the Tennessee Department of Education in developing its own implementation assessment tool to better understand how schools and districts are implementing the state’s RTI framework.

Before joining SRI, Chow was a Society for Research in Child Development Executive Branch Fellow in the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. As a fellow, she conducted research and policy analyses on early childhood homelessness, advised senior policy officials on these issues, and engaged in interagency collaboration with the Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Education. Chow also was a researcher for the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Chow earned her Ph. in education (human development and psychology) from UCLA. She also holds an MA in education from UCLA and a BA in psychology and social welfare from the University of California, Berkeley.

Key projects

1. Virginia Preschool Initiative – Plus (VPI+)
2. Reducing Exclusionary Discipline in Arkansas Early Childhood Programs
3. Virginia Early Childhood Foundation (VECF) Evaluation and Policy Analysis: Smart Beginnings Systems- and Capacity-Building Outcomes
4. Efficacy Study of Discipline in the Secondary Classroom
5. Regional Educational Laboratory – Appalachia – Early Literacy Partnership