Prof. Mark Berends

Mark Berends (Ph.D., Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison) is a Professor of sociology and education at the University of Notre Dame, where he directs the Center for Research on Educational Opportunity (CREO, http://creo.nd.edu/ ) and the National Center on School Choice (NCSC, www.vanderbilt.edu/schoolchoice/). Professor Berends has written and published extensively on educational reform, school choice, the effects of family and school changes on student achievement trends, and the effects of schools and classrooms on student achievement.  Prior to coming to Notre Dame, Professor Berends was a Professor at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, and before that, he was a Senior Social Scientist at RAND.  

His research focuses on how school organization and classroom instruction are related to student achievement, with special attention to disadvantaged students.  Within this agenda, he has applied a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods to understanding the effects of school reforms on teachers and students.  His current research relies on experimental and quasi-experimental designs to examine the effects of school choice on student achievement gains and growth, with a particular focus on the social organization of schools and classrooms.  Professor Berends serves on numerous editorial boards, technical panels, and policy forums and recently ended his term as Vice President of the American Educational Research Association’s Division L, Educational Policy and Politics.  His books include Examining Gaps in Mathematics Achievement Among Racial-Ethnic Groups, 1972-1992(RAND, 2005),Charter School Outcomes (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2008), Leading with Data:  Pathways to Improve Your School (Corwin, 2009) the Handbook of Research on School Choice (Routledge, 2009), and School Choice and School Improvement (2011, Harvard Education Press).  His work has received media coverage from organizations such as The New York Times, Washington Post, Education Week, National Public Radio, and various media outlets across the United States.