Eric A. Hanushek, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University, is one of three pioneers in educational research and policy development chosen for membership in the National Academy of Education.
The appointments were announced on May 24 by Lorrie Shepard, president of the National Academy of Education.
Also named were William H. Schmidt, codirector of the Education Policy Center and distinguished professor at Michigan State University, and Sidney Strauss, chairman of the Department of Education and professor of educational psychology at Tel Aviv University.
Eric Hanushek, the Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow in Education at Hoover and a member of its Koret Task Force on K–12 Education, was trained as an economist. He is widely recognized for his groundbreaking research on the multi-faceted relationship between economics and education. For decades his work has been the launching pad for public debate that has had national implications for U.S. education policy. His ongoing research spans a number of the most important areas of education policy including the impact of high stakes accountability, class size reduction and the importance of teacher quality. His most recent research has focused on the importance of teacher quality and on how the financing of schools can promote higher student achievement.
He is a member of the National Board for Education Sciences. He has also been appointed to Governor Shwarzenegger's Advisory Committee on Education Excellence.
The National Academy of Education is an honorary society that currently has 129 members and eight foreign associates. Total membership is limited to 150 scholars. Over the years its members have included other such luminaries as anthropologist Margaret Meade and psychologist Jean Piaget.
The National Academy of Education was founded in 1965 to advance the highest quality education research and its use in policy formation and practice. Through the years, the National Academy of Education has organized numerous expert study panels to address pressing issues in education, including such topics as national testing and teacher preparation.
