Paul Peterson

Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Government (FAS)
Director,
Program on Education Policy and Governance (PEPG)
Taubman Center for State and Local Government
Office Address
Taubman-306
Mailing Address
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Mailbox 101
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Contact
Phone: 617-495-8312
Fax: 617-496-4428
Email: Paul_Peterson@ksg.harvard.edu
Paul Peterson

Profile

Paul Peterson is the Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Government and Director of the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University, and Editor-in-Chief of Education Next, a journal of opinion and research on education policy. He is former director of the Governmental Studies program at the Brookings Institution. Peterson is author or editor of over 100 articles and 30-plus books. After receiving his PhD from the University of Chicago, he was a professor for many years there in the Departments of Political Science and Education. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Education, and has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the German Marshall Foundation, and the Center for Study in the Behavioral Sciences. Peterson is a member of the independent review panel advising the Department of Educations evaluation of the No Child Left Behind law. The Editorial Projects in Education Research Center reported that Petersons studies on school choice and vouchers were among the countrys most influential on education policy.

 

Courses

Fall

  • HLE-348 The Political Economy of the School
  • HLE-347 The Politics of American Education

Media Expertise

Paul Peterson welcomes media inquiries on the following subjects:

Additional experts may be found by clicking on each subject listed. You may contact faculty directly or if you need assistance contact the Communications Office at 617-495-1115.

Research

Research for a complete list of faculty citations from 2001 - present, please visit the Harvard Kennedy School Research Report Online.

Selected Publication Citations:

  • Academic Journals
    • Peterson, Paul E. "The Case for Curriculum-Based, External Examinations That Have Significant Consequences for Students." Peabody Journal of Education 82.4 (2007): 645-666.
  • Op-Eds
    • Peterson, Paul E. "America's Education Industrial Complex." New York Sun, May 9, 2008.
    • Peterson, Paul E., and Matthew Chingos. "Educational Rewards." Wall Street Journal, November 7, 2007.
    • Peterson, Paul E. "Keeping Education Accountable." Harvard Crimson, February 6, 2007.
  • Research Papers/Reports
    • Peterson, Paul E., and Matthew M. Chingos. "Impact of For-Profit and Non-Profit Management on Student Achievement: The Philadelphia Experiment." KSG Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP07-055, November 2007.