Laura Goe, Ph.D. Student Policy, Organization, Measurement, and Evaluation Major: B.A., Language and Learning Theory in Social Context, UC San Diego / M.S., Education Policy, University of Memphis Career Plans: Educational research Home: San Diego, CA

"While I may be a full-time student at Berkeley, I'm never far from the K-12 classroom, since my research keeps me in regular contact with teachers and schools."

My motivation for pursuing doctoral work:
As a former middle school teacher in high-poverty rural and urban schools, I saw first-hand the challenges facing low-income students and their teachers. By joining the Policy, Organization, Measurement, and Evaluation program at Berkeley in 1999, I took a major step towards fulfilling my dream of improving the opportunity to learn for children in high-poverty, low-performing schools.

My current work:
I divide my time among several research projects, including a longitudinal study of California's Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program, which I hope will be my dissertation research. I also work for the Bay Area Consortium for Urban Education (BACUE) as their research coordinator, and oversee data collection and analysis related to improving achievement test scores of students in urban schools. Other current BACUE projects I am working on include investigating the supply and demand of math teachers in the Bay Area, and determining how districts and teacher training institutes can help teachers upgrade emergency credentials to clear credentials.

My relationship with my advisors:
I have two advisors. One represents the policy and organization side of POME, while the other represents the measurement and evaluation side, because I am equally interested in both aspects. My advisors have been very helpful and supportive, but I have found that to be true of all the faculty in my program. They have been very willing to give their time and expertise when I sought specific advice or had questions on projects or papers.

How I combine research with practice:
While I may be a full-time student, I'm never far from the K-12 classroom since my research keeps me in regular contact with teachers and schools. As a teacher, I tried to take the time to think critically about education, but it was difficult to do with 35 seventh graders demanding my constant attention. It's a real luxury now to sit in classrooms as an observer and have the time to assess what is really happening.

 

 

Resume — Publications — Projects — Other Interests