Merit Pay, Teacher Quality Among Topics for Education Reform Lecture Series

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Fall lecturers are, top row, Derek Neal, C. Kirabo Jackson and Jesse Rothstein, bottom, Jennifer King Rice, Kieran Killeen and Joshua Angrist.

A professor of economics at the University of Chicago kicks off the department of education reform's lecture series this fall at the University of Arkansas.

The lecture series is now in its eighth year. The lectures are free and open to the public, and they begin at noon in Room 343 of the Graduate Education Building on the dates listed below. RSVP online to reserve a seat for a lecture and a light lunch. RSVP is requested before 1 p.m. on the Wednesday before the scheduled lecture.

Derek Neal studies labor issues and education policy among other topics at the University of Chicago. He will speak at noon Friday, Sept. 6 about "Designing Incentives for Education." Some of his previous papers, including "The Design of Performance Pay in Education" published in the Handbook of the Economics of Education, are available on the lecture series website. Information about each speaker is available by clicking on the speaker's photograph or name.

Doctoral students in the department's education policy coordinate the lecture series. Lecturers come from universities and think tanks across the country to discuss many of the topics these students are studying.

Other dates, presenters and topic information, if available:

• Sept. 20, C. Kirabo Jackson, assistant professor of human development and social policy at Northwestern University, "Non-Cognitive Ability, Test Scores, and Teacher Quality: Evidence from 9^th Grade Teachers in North Carolina."
• Oct. 4, Jesse Rothstein, associate professor of public policy and economics at the University of California, Berkeley, "Teacher Quality Policy When Supply Matters."
• Oct. 18, Jennifer King Rice, professor of teaching and learning, policy and leadership at the University of Maryland, "Pay-for-Performance from Theory to Practice: Evidence on Educators' Responses to Payouts and Perceived Efforts of a TIF Program."
• Oct. 25, Kieran Killeen, associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Vermont, "Insights on Teacher Hiring Patterns Using Comprehensive Online Application Materials."
• Nov. 15, Joshua Angrist, Ford Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, "Effects of Boston's Charter High Schools on College Preparation."
• Feb. 7, Jonathan Zimmerman, professor of education and history at New York University.
• Feb. 14, Eugenia Toma, Wendell H. Ford Professor of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Kentucky.
• Feb. 21, Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington.
• March 7, Peter Hinrichs, assistant professor of public policy at Georgetown University.
• April 4, David Deming, assistant professor of education and economics at Harvard University.
• April 11, Paul Manna, associate professor of government at the College of William and Mary.
• April 25, Daphna Bassok, assistant professor of education policy, University of Virginia.
• May 2, Joshua Aronson, associate professor of applied psychology, New York University.