Nicole L. Arshan, PhD, focuses on the scaling and rigorous evaluation of educational interventions designed to improve teaching quality. Her impact studies provide data and integrated analysis to develop, implement, continuously improve, and scale successful programs, without sacrificing the rigor required to meet What Works Clearinghouse and ESSA evidence standards.

Arshan’s recent work includes evaluations of teacher professional development in writing, data-driven instruction, and a maker program integrating math and computational thinking. She also leads a team of SRI methodologists in an external review of a commercial education company’s internal efficacy work. Her work spans multiple contexts, including: K–16 classrooms; urban, rural, and international communities; and early-stage development through large-scale replication. Arshan also co-leads SRI’s Evaluation Methods working group.

Arshan’s work can be found in the Journal on Research in Educational Effectiveness, the American Educational Research Journal, the Journal of Educational Psychology, and in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. She also serves on the Technical Working Group for the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Northwest, where she provides guidance on quantitative methods for causal impact studies.

Arshan holds a PhD and MA from the Stanford University School of Education and a BA from The College of William and Mary.

Key projects:

• Initial Efficacy Study of Data Wise
• Math and Computational Thinking Through 3D Making (MPACT)
• College, Career, and Community Writers Program Scale-up Evaluation (C3WP)
• Evaluation of the Pathway to Academic Success Expansion Grant
• Pearson Research Quality Review

Select publication

• Emerging Leaders Program: Impacts on Students, Teachers, and Leaders in Three Sites
• Lifewide or School-Only Learning: Approaches to Addressing the Developing World’s Learning Crisis
• Impact of the National Writing Project’s College-Ready Writers Program in High-Need Rural Districts