Tim Kautz

Tim Kautz specializes in designing and conducting studies in the areas of education and labor. Much of his research focuses on approaches to measuring social-emotional/noncognitive skills and evaluating interventions designed to improve them.

Kautz currently serves as the project director for a study exploring ways to advance social-emotional skill measurement in schools funded by the Spencer Foundation. As a co-principal investigator on two Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic studies, he has worked with the Maryland State Department of Education to develop and validate a statewide school climate survey, and he has worked with District of Columbia Public Schools to validate a social-emotional skills survey. He also works on evaluations of principal development and support programs, coaching programs designed to improve self-regulation skills, and a preschool program designed to support students with disabilities.

Kautz has published articles in Labour Economics and the British Medical Journal, and he is a coauthor of a book that explores the importance of social-emotional skills entitled The Myth of Achievement Tests: The GED and the Role of Character in American Life. He is a member of the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development’s Council of Distinguished Scientists and a network leader of the Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Global Working Group. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago.