Tim Kautz

Tim Kautz

Senior Researcher

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.

Expertise
  • Designing and analyzing experimental and nonexperimental evaluations
  • Quantitative data collection and analysis
  • Social-emotional skill development and measurement
  • Survey development
Focus Area Topics
  • Effective Data Use
  • Special Education
  • Teacher and Principal Preparation and Support
  • Training and Re-employment

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