AboutWWC reviews take place within specialized review teams. Each review team has a content expert, methodological expert, and review staff.
Click on the topics below for information about key staff for each team.
Dr. Streke has been lead methodologist for the Literacy WWC topic area since 2014. He has worked on the WWC since 2004, and was a member of the technical review team that developed the first set of standards. Among his other roles, he was the deputy principal investigator for Adolescent Literacy, Beginning Reading, Science, and Early Childhood Education, and has worked on dozens of intervention reports and practice guides. Currently, Dr. Streke serves as a task leader for assessment of systematic reviews and meta-analyses developed by the Regional Educational Laboratories, and a member of the editorial board of Review of Educational Research. He has been chosen as an Outstanding Reviewer for 2018 by the American Educational Research Association and Review of Educational Research.
Mr. Porowski has supported and provided leadership on the WWC since 2003. Mr. Porowski has served as lead methodologist for the Literacy topic area since 2014 and as deputy for the Dropout Prevention topic area from 2004 to 2008. He has also served as a reviewer on a number of WWC topic area and practice guide review teams, including math, character education, out-of-school time, and foundational reading. Mr. Porowski has served as principal investigator on other systematic review efforts, including the Texas Best Practices Clearinghouse, and on the study Best Practices in Dropout Prevention for the Texas Education Agency.
Dr. Shanahan is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Previously he was director of reading for the Chicago Public Schools and president of the International Literacy Association. He has authored or edited more than 200 publications on reading education, served on or chaired three federal research review panels including the National Reading Panel, and currently he serves on the editorial boards of eight journals including Review of Educational Research, Journal of Educational Psychology, and Scientific Studies in Reading.
Mr. Porowski has supported and provided leadership on the WWC since 2003. Mr. Porowski has served as lead methodologist for the Literacy topic area since 2014 and as deputy for the Dropout Prevention topic area from 2004 to 2008. He has also served as a reviewer on a number of WWC topic area and practice guide review teams, including math, character education, out-of-school time, and foundational reading. Mr. Porowski has served as principal investigator on other systematic review efforts, including the Texas Best Practices Clearinghouse, and on the study Best Practices in Dropout Prevention for the Texas Education Agency.
Dr. Sandra Jo Wilson is the Co-Methodological Lead on the WWC Postsecondary Education, Postsecondary Preparation, and Evidence Reporting contract. A Principal Associate at Abt, Dr. Wilson is an expert in the design and execution of systematic reviews and meta-analysis, with nearly 20 years of experience leading reviews on educational and social programs. She has served in leadership roles on Practice Guides for the WWC and is an author of several WWC protocols. She is also a certified and experienced reviewer. Prior to joining Abt, Dr. Wilson led WWC reviews in the Transition to College and Supporting Postsecondary Success topic areas, conducted reviewer training, and was Principal Investigator and director on multiple systematic review and meta-analysis projects. Dr. Wilson has broad content experience, as evidenced by her work on topics in early childhood education, school-based prevention programs, high school dropout prevention, and postsecondary education.
Judith Alamprese is a Senior Postsecondary Advisor on Abt’s WWC Postsecondary Education, Postsecondary Preparation and Evidence Reporting contract. A Principal Scientist at Abt Associates, Ms. Alamprese has led research and evaluation studies in postsecondary education, adult education, and workforce development for four decades. She has broad experience in the design and implementation of rigorous research studies, the translation of research to practice, and the design and implementation of state and national dissemination systems. She is currently the principal investigator of two IES studies examining the impacts of academic preparation and advising on adult learners’ postsecondary participation, and of an impact study of the effects of mobile apps on college students’ persistence and completion. For the past decade, Ms. Alamprese has focused on the development of career pathways, including leading evaluations of integrated education and occupational training programs and the expansion of postsecondary education in biosciences. She has published on topics such as the role of interagency coordination in career pathways systems, reading instruction for low-skilled adults, and family literacy and workplace literacy. She has served on two adult literacy committees for the National Academies' Board on Testing and Assessment. She was a member of the U.S. Delegation to the 6th International Conference on Adult Education.
Dr. Walsh is the current project director of the WWC effort to review studies of students in early childhood to high school and has worked on the WWC since 2011. Previously, he was deputy project director for the WWC preK–12 contract overseeing the application of WWC standards in reviews, quality of deliverables, and training of reviewers. He also oversaw the quality of intervention reports and led the development of the Version 4.0 WWC Procedures and Standards Handbooks. He is an expert in measuring educator effectiveness, having worked closely with policymakers in several states and districts to develop and use value-added models in educator evaluation systems. He is also an author of quasi-experimental, regression discontinuity design, and other studies on a variety of topics in preK–12 education.
Dr. Johnson began conducting reviews and writing intervention reports for the WWC in 2010. For 8 years, he has also worked with the Pittsburgh Public Schools district on measuring teacher effectiveness and reforming the district’s teacher evaluation system. He conducted similar work measuring teacher effectiveness for the Memphis City Schools District and New Leaders for New Schools. He has also analyzed the relationship between teacher career transitions and measured access to effective teaching for disadvantaged students.
Dr. Constantine has worked on WWC contracts for more than 12 years, and was Mathematica’s project director for four years and the deputy project director for three years. Currently, she is the principal investigator for the WWC effort to review studies of students in early childhood to high school. She led the Beginning Reading topic area for several years, and has been a content expert for the Teacher Training, Evaluation, and Compensation topic area. Dr. Constantine also has directed several large, multisite randomized controlled trial projects for IES, focusing mainly on teacher preparation, quality, and compensation.
Dr. Duncan has 24 years of experience in applied research and evaluation. As an educational psychologist, Dr. Duncan has experience conducting studies in the areas of teacher professional development and student learning, cognition, and achievement, including interventions for at-risk students. Dr. Duncan currently serves as a co-principal investigator for a large randomized controlled trial to measure the impact of Math for All, a professional development program in mathematics, on the instructional practices and pedagogical content knowledge of elementary school teachers. Her methodological expertise includes experimental and quasi-experimental designs, program evaluation, survey development, and applied educational and psychological measurement. Dr. Duncan was also the deputy project director for the first WWC contract, and served as a topic area lead for Beginning Reading.
Dr. Caswell directs and provides technical assistance on evaluations of educational interventions and curricula, with an emphasis on literacy and English Learner (EL)-focused interventions. She is the Project Director for the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) Study, a nationally representative study that involves recruitment of MSHS programs and centers and data collection using both Spanish and English measures. She is also the Project Director for the Study of Teacher Preparation Experiences and Early Teacher Effectiveness, a large-scale Institute of Education Sciences’ study examining the relationship between novice teachers’ preparation experiences and their early effectiveness in the classroom. Dr. Caswell serves as a co-Principal Investigator on an IES-funded exploratory research grant that focuses on writing instruction and outcomes for ELs in Miami and an external evaluator for a study focused on a science and technology intervention for ELs in Georgia. She has been a WWC-certified reviewer since 2010 and conducted reviews for IES intervention reports and for the Practice Guide for Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction for English Learners in the Elementary Grades.
Dr. Campuzano started conducting reviews for the WWC in 2006. She has been a senior reviewer and reconciler for several topic areas, including Beginning Reading and English Language Learners, and was the deputy principal investigator for the English Language Learner topic area from 2008 to 2012. She is an expert in design and implementation of experimental and non-experimental impact evaluations, focusing on education and international development. She has led several evaluations of educational interventions funded by U.S. government agencies in El Salvador, Peru, and Guatemala.
Dr. Vaughn has spent more than 30 years developing, implementing, and conducting randomized control trials addressing the efficacy of literacy interventions for students at risk and with identified disabilities. She has been the principal or co-principal investigator on numerous IES grants including efficacy and effectiveness studies as well as numerous National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, private foundations, and evaluation studies. She is the author of more than 100 peer-reviewed studies, several meeting the WWC criteria.
Dr. Howard is an associate professor of bilingual education in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut, where she teaches graduate courses on linguistic and cultural diversity and conducts research focusing on dual language education, biliteracy development, and the preparation of teachers to work with multilingual learners. She is currently a co-investigator of a federally funded research project exploring writing instruction and outcomes among English learners, and has served as principal investigator of several large-scale studies of biliteracy development and dual language education. Her books include Realizing the Vision of Two-way Immersion: Fostering Effective Programs and Classrooms (2007) and Preparing Classroom Teachers to Succeed with Second Language Learners (2014). She is also the lead author of a number of professional resources for dual language educators. Previously, she has worked as a senior research associate at the Center for Applied Linguistics and as a bilingual teacher in California and Costa Rica.
Ms. Harris has been a certified WWC reviewer since 2008 and the deputy methodologist of the Primary and Secondary Math topics areas since 2013. On the WWC, she has worked on several math-focused products including dozens of intervention reports and two practice guides. In other work, she specializes in evaluations of math education interventions.
Dr. Clements is a researcher and curriculum developer who directs research funded by the National Science Foundation and the Institute of Education Sciences and has published over 100 refereed research studies, 8 books, 50 chapters, and 300 additional publications in mathematics and technology education. He has served on President's National Mathematics Advisory Panel, the Common Core State Standards committee of the National Governor’s Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, the National Research Council’s Committee on Early Mathematics, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics national curriculum and Principles and Standards committees, and is and co-author each of their reports. He is presently serving on the Common Core committee.
Dr. Walsh is the current project director of the WWC effort to review studies of students in early childhood to high school and has worked on the WWC since 2011. Previously, he was deputy project director for the WWC preK–12 contract overseeing the application of WWC standards in reviews, quality of deliverables, and training of reviewers. He also oversaw the quality of intervention reports and led the development of the Version 4.0 WWC Procedures and Standards Handbooks. He is an expert in measuring educator effectiveness, having worked closely with policymakers in several states and districts to develop and use value-added models in educator evaluation systems. He is also an author of quasi-experimental, regression discontinuity design, and other studies on a variety of topics in preK–12 education.
Dr. Johnson began conducting reviews and writing intervention reports for the WWC in 2010. For 8 years, he has also worked with the Pittsburgh Public Schools district on measuring teacher effectiveness and reforming the district’s teacher evaluation system. He conducted similar work measuring teacher effectiveness for the Memphis City Schools District and New Leaders for New Schools. He has also analyzed the relationship between teacher career transitions and measured access to effective teaching for disadvantaged students.
Dr. Constantine has worked on WWC contracts for more than 12 years, and was Mathematica’s project director for four years and the deputy project director for three years. Currently, she is the principal investigator for the WWC effort to review studies of students in early childhood to high school. She led the Beginning Reading topic area for several years, and has been a content expert for the Teacher Training, Evaluation, and Compensation topic area. Dr. Constantine also has directed several large, multisite randomized controlled trial projects for IES, focusing mainly on teacher preparation, quality, and compensation.
Dr. Duncan has 24 years of experience in applied research and evaluation. As an educational psychologist, Dr. Duncan has experience conducting studies in the areas of teacher professional development and student learning, cognition, and achievement, including interventions for at-risk students. Dr. Duncan currently serves as a co-principal investigator for a large randomized controlled trial to measure the impact of Math for All, a professional development program in mathematics, on the instructional practices and pedagogical content knowledge of elementary school teachers. Her methodological expertise includes experimental and quasi-experimental designs, program evaluation, survey development, and applied educational and psychological measurement. Dr. Duncan was also the deputy project director for the first WWC contract, and served as a topic area lead for Beginning Reading.
A WWC-certified reviewer since 2010, Dr. Epstein has conducted WWC reviews in Adolescent Literacy and Early Childhood Education, and conducted WWC-informed reviews of analysis plans for the national evaluation of i3 and First in the World. Dr. Epstein has served as director or deputy director for several quasi-experimental studies for the National Science Foundation, using comparative interrupted time series, propensity score matching methods (CAREER, IRFP, EAPSI, and PIRE programs). She also designed a randomized controlled trial for an evaluation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Science, Engineering, Mathematics and Aerospace Academy program.
Dr. Furtak is a researcher studying how science teachers learn and improve their daily classroom practices through formative assessment. She has partnered with teachers, schools, and districts to learn how teachers can design, enact, and take instructional action on the basis of classroom assessments they design. Dr. Furtak is currently the Principal Investigator of two Aspire research projects, funded by the Spencer Foundation and the National Science Foundation. Dr. Furtak’s research has been published in multiple journal articles, research-and practitioner-oriented books, and book chapters. She is the recipient of the 2011 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) and in 2015 was recognized as a Young Leader at the Science, Technology and Society forum, as nominated by the National Science Foundation.
Dr. Cosentino has spent more than 20 years studying factors that influence STEM educational and professional attainment, particularly among underrepresented groups. An expert in rigorous, large-scale impact evaluations of efforts to improve the participation of underrepresented groups in STEM education and in the scientific workforce, she led several national studies for government agencies (the National Science Foundation and National Aeronautics Administration) and private foundations (such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation).
Mr. Porowski has supported and provided leadership on the WWC since 2003. Mr. Porowski has served as lead methodologist for the Literacy topic area since 2014 and as deputy for the Dropout Prevention topic area from 2004 to 2008. He has also served as a reviewer on a number of WWC topic area and practice guide review teams, including math, character education, out-of-school time, and foundational reading. Mr. Porowski has served as principal investigator on other systematic review efforts, including the Texas Best Practices Clearinghouse, and on the study Best Practices in Dropout Prevention for the Texas Education Agency.
Dr. Sandra Jo Wilson is the Co-Methodological Lead on the WWC Postsecondary Education, Postsecondary Preparation, and Evidence Reporting contract. A Principal Associate at Abt, Dr. Wilson is an expert in the design and execution of systematic reviews and meta-analysis, with nearly 20 years of experience leading reviews on educational and social programs. She has served in leadership roles on Practice Guides for the WWC and is an author of several WWC protocols. She is also a certified and experienced reviewer. Prior to joining Abt, Dr. Wilson led WWC reviews in the Transition to College and Supporting Postsecondary Success topic areas, conducted reviewer training, and was Principal Investigator and director on multiple systematic review and meta-analysis projects. Dr. Wilson has broad content experience, as evidenced by her work on topics in early childhood education, school-based prevention programs, high school dropout prevention, and postsecondary education.
Judith Alamprese is a Senior Postsecondary Advisor on Abt’s WWC Postsecondary Education, Postsecondary Preparation and Evidence Reporting contract. A Principal Scientist at Abt Associates, Ms. Alamprese has led research and evaluation studies in postsecondary education, adult education, and workforce development for four decades. She has broad experience in the design and implementation of rigorous research studies, the translation of research to practice, and the design and implementation of state and national dissemination systems. She is currently the principal investigator of two IES studies examining the impacts of academic preparation and advising on adult learners’ postsecondary participation, and of an impact study of the effects of mobile apps on college students’ persistence and completion. For the past decade, Ms. Alamprese has focused on the development of career pathways, including leading evaluations of integrated education and occupational training programs and the expansion of postsecondary education in biosciences. She has published on topics such as the role of interagency coordination in career pathways systems, reading instruction for low-skilled adults, and family literacy and workplace literacy. She has served on two adult literacy committees for the National Academies' Board on Testing and Assessment. She was a member of the U.S. Delegation to the 6th International Conference on Adult Education.
Dr. Cole has nearly a decade of experience on the WWC across a variety of roles. During his time on the WWC, he previously served as deputy principal investigator for the Early Childhood interventions for Children with Disabilities topic area, as the lead for single study reviews, and as the quality assurance lead for all intervention reports and other review-based products. More recently, he was a member of the team that developed the cluster-design standards that were incorporated in the Version 4.0 WWC Standards Handbook. He has experience working on rigorous evaluations in education, including currently serving as principal investigator of a large, school-based, cluster randomized controlled trial evaluation of Making Proud Choices!, a teen pregnancy prevention intervention.
Dr. Hitchcock has 15 years of experience with the WWC, including roles on the Children and Youth with Disabilities topic area, and on the quality assurance team. He has held numerous roles within the WWC, including principal investigator of a review of interventions designed to meet the needs of children at risk of or classified with an emotional behavioral disorder, and has reviewed hundreds of special education studies using group or single case designs. He is also one of the developers of the WWC’s pilot single-case design standards and has developed training materials, assessments, and led single-case design reviewer certification training. Hitchcock has co-led several randomized controlled trials and served as either an associate editor or board member of School Psychology Review since 2011. He is currently co-editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Multiple Research Approaches and he writes often about advances in mixed methods research designs.
Dr. Bradshaw has more than 14 years of experience in applied research and evaluation. Her expertise is in the development of aggressive behavior and school-based prevention. She has collaborated on research projects examining bullying and school climate. She has also examined the effects of exposure to violence, peer victimization, environmental stress on children, and children with emotional and behavioral disorders and autism. Additionally, she has expertise in the design, evaluation, and implementation of evidence-based prevention programs in schools. She has led a number of federally funded randomized trials of school-based prevention programs, including Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and social-emotional learning curricula. She also has expertise in implementation science and coaching models. She collaborates on federally-funded research grants supported by the NIMH, NIDA, CDC, NIJ, U.S. Department of Education, and the Institute of Education Sciences. She has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles and chapters in edited volumes. She was previously the Associate Editor for the Journal of Research on Adolescence and is currently the editor of Prevention Science. She is a coeditor of the Handbook of School Mental Health (2014) and the editor of Handbook on Bullying: A Life Course Perspective (2017).
Mr. Porowski has supported and provided leadership on the WWC since 2003. Mr. Porowski has served as lead methodologist for the Literacy topic area since 2014 and as deputy for the Dropout Prevention topic area from 2004 to 2008. He has also served as a reviewer on a number of WWC topic area and practice guide review teams, including math, character education, out-of-school time, and foundational reading. Mr. Porowski has served as principal investigator on other systematic review efforts, including the Texas Best Practices Clearinghouse, and on the study Best Practices in Dropout Prevention for the Texas Education Agency.
Judith Alamprese is a Senior Postsecondary Advisor on Abt’s WWC Postsecondary Education, Postsecondary Preparation and Evidence Reporting contract. A Principal Scientist at Abt Associates, Ms. Alamprese has led research and evaluation studies in postsecondary education, adult education, and workforce development for four decades. She has broad experience in the design and implementation of rigorous research studies, the translation of research to practice, and the design and implementation of state and national dissemination systems. She is currently the principal investigator of two IES studies examining the impacts of academic preparation and advising on adult learners’ postsecondary participation, and of an impact study of the effects of mobile apps on college students’ persistence and completion. For the past decade, Ms. Alamprese has focused on the development of career pathways, including leading evaluations of integrated education and occupational training programs and the expansion of postsecondary education in biosciences. She has published on topics such as the role of interagency coordination in career pathways systems, reading instruction for low-skilled adults, and family literacy and workplace literacy. She has served on two adult literacy committees for the National Academies' Board on Testing and Assessment. She was a member of the U.S. Delegation to the 6th International Conference on Adult Education.
Mr. Brian Freeman is the Intervention Report Director on Abt's WWC Postsecondary Education, Postsecondary Preparation and Evidence Reporting contract. Mr. Freeman is an Associate at Abt Associates and has more than eight years of experience conducting evaluations, primarily in the fields of education and science policy. Since becoming certified to conduct WWC reviews in 2017, he has worked on the National Evaluation of i3 and the Wallace Foundation ESSA Afterschool review. He helps lead a systematic review and meta-analysis of school-based social and behavioral interventions under an IES grant. In addition to leading systematic review tasks, Mr. Freeman directs the evaluation of a school leadership intervention supported by an EIR grant.
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