20th Anniversary Conference

Education Reform Then and Now:

A Policy Conference Celebrating 20 Years of the Department of Education Reform

Where: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR

 

When: October 23-24, 2025

 

Co-Chairs: Harry Patrinos and Patrick Wolf

Register to Attend

There is no cost to attend, but space is limited. Please register here by September 30, 2025.

Call for Proposals

The call for proposals is now closed. 

Conference Agenda

Twenty years ago, education reform was having a moment. President Bush’s signature No Child Left Behind Act had recently passed and was being implemented. The package of initiatives in the law included elements promoting transparency, test-based accountability, and school choice. The public charter school sector was growing, and teacher merit pay, and value-added measures were prominent human capital reforms. The Institute of Education Sciences had been launched to help determine what works in education. Policy research and reform was in the air.

Amidst this reform push, the Department of Education Reform in the College of Education and Health Professions was established at the University of Arkansas in 2005. According to the Department’s founding document, its mission is to point the way towards improved educational outcomes “in Arkansas and across the nation.” It is charged with doing so by “breaking new ground in terms of research in important policy areas and establish(ing) intervention programs through which these efforts will be brought to bear in the public schools. These programs will serve as examples to reform-minded educators as well as policy makers.”

The purpose of this conference is to reflect upon the state of education reform research and policy, nationally, with the expectation that the current era might be an inflection point. What has been accomplished in the past two decades regarding identifying ways to improve education? Which promising reforms have proven to be politically palatable and sustainable? Where should researchers and policy makers turn, now, to find ways to improve student achievement and character outcomes for the benefit of individuals and society? Those are the motivating questions for this gathering.

Confirmed Keynote Speakers

Howard Fuller, Marquette University

Eric Hanushek, Stanford University

Keynote Panel on AI

  • Chair, Harry A. Patrinos, University of Arkansas Department of Education Reform
  • Panelist, Jean-Claude Brizard, Digital Promise
  • Panelist, Tom Vander Ark, Getting Smart
  • Panelist, Michael Trucano, Brookings

Agenda 

8:00-8:30 - Buffet Breakfast

8:30-8:45 - Welcome (Kate Mamiseishvili, University of Arkansas and Harry Patrinos, University of Arkansas)

8:45-9:45 - Keynote: Eric Hanushek, Stanford University

 

9:45-10:00 - Break

 

10:00-11:30 - The Learning Crisis in America (Chair: Harry Patrinos)

Eren Asena, Classic Learning Initiatives

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Standardized Test Scores Across School Types

Anna Egalite, NC State University

Factors Driving School Choice in North Carolina During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Colby Woods, University of Pennsylvania

Pre- and Post-COVID Trends in Why Students are Missing School in Rural America

Ron Zimmer, University of Kentucky

Tennessee Charter School Performance During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

 

11:30-12:45 - Lunch

 

12:45-1:45 - Keynote Panel on the Theme of Artificial Intelligence in Education (Chair: Harry Patrinos)

Jean-Claude Brizard, Digital Promise

Tom Vander Ark, Getting Smart

Michael Trucano, Brookings

 

1:45-1:50 - Transition between panels

 

1:50-3:20 - A Burr Under the Saddle: Reigniting the Urgency for Bold Education Reform in the Next 20 Years

(Chair: Robert Maranto, University of Arkansas)

Brian Kisida, University of Missouri

Michael Q. McShane, EdChoice

James V. Shuls, University of Missouri

James Lynn Woodworth, Stanford University

 

3:20-3:30 - Break

 

3:30-5:00 - Educational Transparency & Accountability (Chair: Josh McGee, University of Arkansas)

Dan Goldhaber, Center for Education Data & Research

Predicting Postsecondary Outcomes: A Horse Race Between GPA and State Assessments

Ethan Hutt, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Reflections on the Era of "Information and Options"

Jonathan Moody, The Equable Institute

Crowded Classrooms: Assessing Rising Pension Costs’ Crowd Out of Other Education Priorities

Benjamin Scafidi, Kennesaw State University

The short-, medium-, and long-run effects of enrollment changes on district finances

 

5:00-6:00 - Reception

6:00-8:00 - Dinner

8:00-8:20 - Continental Buffet Breakfast

 

8:20-9:05 - Keynote Interview: Howard Fuller, Marquette University

 

9:05-10:35 - School Choice (Chair: Patrick Wolf, University of Arkansas)

Daniel Bowen, Texas A & M University

Culture War Framing Effects and Public Attitudes Toward School Choice

Heidi Holmes Erickson, Brigham Young University

Charters and the Shifting School Choice Landscape: Evidence of Sector Competition with Private Schools

David T. Marshall, Auburn University

Teacher Choice Matters: How Educational Options Can Impact Educator Satisfaction and Retention

Danish Shakeel, University of Buckingham

Choosing to Go Further: A Meta-Analysis of the Educational Attainment Effects of Private School Choice Around the Globe

 

10:35-10:40 - Transition between panels

 

10:40-12:10 - Teacher Quality & the Teacher Pipeline (Chair: Gema Zamarro, University of Arkansas)

Andrew Avitabile, University of Virginia

Using Large Language Models to Analyze Pre-service Teacher Feedback and Reflections

Andrew Camp, Brown University

The Effects of Four-Day School Weeks on Teacher Recruitment and Retention

Handrea Logis, National Institute for Excellence in Teaching

Rural Excellence: Strengthening Educator Capacity for Student Success

Eric Taylor, Harvard University

Employee Evaluation and Skill Investments: Evidence from Public School Teachers

 

12:10-12:55 - Lunch

 

12:55-2:25 - Education Policy for the Gifted and Talented (Chair: Jonathan Wai, University of Arkansas)

Matthew H. Lee, Kennesaw State University

Identifying talented teachers and students using the GRE

Andy Parra-Martinez, Mississippi State University

Title TBD

Bich Tran, Dartmouth College

Title TBD

 

2:25-3:55 - Issues in Homeschooling and Education Policy (Chair: Albert Cheng, University of Arkansas)

Angela Watson, Johns Hopkins University 

Homeschooling Research Then and Now: A Retrospective look at what we thought we knew and where we go from here

Christy Batts, North Carolina State University

Public Education Partnerships with Homeschoolers: A Mixed-Methods-Grounded Theory Analysis of Access to and Use of Public Education Resources in North Carolina

Collin Hitt, Saint Louis University

Taking Attendance: Estimating Homeschooling Populations in States without Official Homeschool Data

Joshua Goodman, Boston University

School Enrollment Shifts Five Years After the Pandemic

 

3:55-4:00 - Wrap up and farewell (Patrick Wolf)

Questions about the conference may be directed to the Program Co-Chairs: