John Papay is an Associate Professor of Education and Economics and directs the Annenberg Institute at Brown University. His research focuses on educational inequality and policies that affect teachers and their work. Papay conducts much of his research in collaborative partnerships with policymakers and practitioners. He currently leads the Educational Opportunity in Massachusetts project, a long-standing partnership with the Massachusetts (http://edopportunityma.org/). He is one of the founding senior researchers of the Research Partnership for Professional Learning, or RPPL (http://researchpl.org/). Locally, along with Nate Schwartz and other colleagues at Annenberg, he has built a partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Education and local school districts (https://annenberg.brown.edu/ri-research).
| Murnane, Richard J., Willett, John B., McDonough, Aubrey, Papay, John P., Mantil, Ann. "Are Community-College Students Increasingly Choosing High-Paying Fields of Study? Evidence from Massachusetts." AERA Open, vol. 10, 2024. |
| James, Jessalynn, Kraft, Matthew A., Papay, John P. "Local supply, temporal dynamics, and unrealized potential in teacher hiring." Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, vol. 42, no. 4, 2023, pp. 1010-1044. |
| Papay, John P., Mantil, Ann, Murnane, Richard J. "On the Threshold: Impacts of Barely Passing High-School Exit Exams on Post-Secondary Enrollment and Completion." Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, vol. 44, no. 4, 2022, pp. 717-733. |
| Bardelli, Emanuele, Ronfeldt, Matthew, Papay, John P. "Teacher Preparation Programs and Graduates’ Growth in Instructional Effectiveness." American Educational Research Journal, vol. 60, no. 1, 2022, pp. 000283122211377. |
| Papay, John P., Kraft, Matthew A., James, Jessalynn K. "Operator Versus Partner: A Case Study of Blueprint School Network’s Model for School Turnaround." Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, vol. 15, no. 2, 2021, pp. 367-393. |
| Papay, John P., Taylor, Eric S., Tyler, John H., Laski, Mary E. "Learning Job Skills from Colleagues at Work: Evidence from a Field Experiment Using Teacher Performance Data." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, vol. 12, no. 1, 2020, pp. 359-388. |
| Charner-Laird, Megin, Ng, Monica, Johnson, Susan Moore, Kraft, Matthew A., Papay, John P., Reinhorn, Stefanie K. "Gauging Goodness of Fit: Teachers’ Responses to Their Instructional Teams in High-Poverty Schools." American Journal of Education, vol. 123, no. 4, 2017, pp. 553-584. |
| Papay, John P., Bacher-Hicks, Andrew, Page, Lindsay C., Marinell, William H. "The Challenge of Teacher Retention in Urban Schools: Evidence of Variation From a Cross-Site Analysis." Educational Researcher, vol. 46, no. 8, 2017, pp. 434-448. |
| Papay JP, Kraft MA. "The Productivity Costs of Inefficient Hiring Practices: Evidence From Late Teacher Hiring." Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, vol. 35, no. 4, 2016, pp. 791-817. |
| Donaldson, Morgaen L., Papay, John P. "An Idea Whose Time Had Come: Negotiating Teacher Evaluation Reform in New Haven, Connecticut." American Journal of Education, vol. 122, no. 1, 2015, pp. 39-70. |
| Kraft, M. A., Papay, J. P., Johnson, S. M., Charner-Laird, M., Ng, M., Reinhorn, S. "Educating Amid Uncertainty: The Organizational Supports Teachers Need to Serve Students in High-Poverty, Urban Schools." Educational Administration Quarterly, 2015. |
| Papay, J. P., Murnane, R. J., Willett, J. B. "Income-Based Inequality in Educational Outcomes: Learning From State Longitudinal Data Systems." Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, vol. 37, no. 1 Suppl, 2015, pp. 29S-52S. |
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Papay, J.P., Murnane, R.J., & Willett, J.B.
"Inequality and Educational Attainment: Evidence from Massachusetts." Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, vol. 37, no. 1S, 2015, pp. 29-52.
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| Papay, John P., Kraft, Matthew A. "Productivity Returns to Experience in the Teacher Labor Market: Methodological Challenges and New Evidence on Long-Term Career Improvement." Journal of Public Economics, 2015. |
| Papay, J. P., Murnane, R. J., Willett, J. B. "The Impact of Test Score Labels on Human-Capital Investment Decisions." Journal of Human Resources, vol. 51, no. 2, 2015, pp. 357-388. |
| Kraft, M. A., Papay, J. P. "Can Professional Environments in Schools Promote Teacher Development? Explaining Heterogeneity in Returns to Teaching Experience." Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, vol. 36, no. 4, 2014, pp. 476-500. |
| Papay, John P., Murnane, Richard J., Willett, John B. "High-School Exit Examinations and the Schooling Decisions of Teenagers: Evidence From Regression-Discontinuity Approaches." Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, vol. 7, no. 1, 2014, pp. 1-27. |
| Johnson SM, Reinhorn SK, Charner-Laird M, Kraft MA, Ng M, Papay JP. "Ready to Lead, But How? Teachers' Experiences in High-poverty Urban Schools." Teachers College record (1970), vol. 116, no. 10, 2014. |
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Donaldson, M.L. & Papay, J.P.
"Teacher Evaluation Reform: Policy Lessons for School Principals." NASSP Principal's Research Review, vol. 9, no. 5, 2014, pp. 1-8.
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| Papay, J. P., West, M. R., Fullerton, J. B., Kane, T. J. "Does an Urban Teacher Residency Increase Student Achievement? Early Evidence From Boston." Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, vol. 34, no. 4, 2012, pp. 413-434. |
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Johnson, S.M., Kraft, M.A., & Papay, J.P.
"How Context Matters in High-Need Schools: The Effects of Teachers’ Working Conditions on Their Professional Satisfaction and Their Students’ Achievement." Teachers College Record, vol. 114, no. 10, 2012, pp. 1-39.
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| Papay, John. "Refocusing the Debate: Assessing the Purposes and Tools of Teacher Evaluation." Harvard Educational Review, vol. 82, no. 1, 2012, pp. 123-141. |
| Papay, John, West, Martin, Fullerton, Jon, Kane, Thomas. "Does Practice-Based Teacher Preparation Increase Student Achievement? Early Evidence from the Boston Teacher Residency." [], 2011. |
| Papay, John P., Willett, John B., Murnane, Richard J. "Extending the regression-discontinuity approach to multiple assignment variables." Journal of Econometrics, vol. 161, no. 2, 2011, pp. 203-207. |
| Papay, John, Willett, John, Murnane, Richard. "High-School Exit Examinations and the Schooling Decisions of Teenagers: A Multi-Dimensional Regression-Discontinuity Analysis." [], 2011. |
| Papay, J.P., Murnane, R. J., Willett, J. B. "How Performance Information Affects Human-Capital Investment Decisions: The Impact of Test-Score Labels on Educational Outcomes." [], 2011. |
| Papay, J. P., Johnson, S. M. "Is PAR a Good Investment? Understanding the Costs and Benefits of Teacher Peer Assistance and Review Programs." Educational Policy, vol. 26, no. 5, 2011, pp. 696-729. |
| Papay, J. P. "Different Tests, Different Answers: The Stability of Teacher Value-Added Estimates Across Outcome Measures." American Educational Research Journal, vol. 48, no. 1, 2010, pp. 163-193. |
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Johnson, S.M., & Papay, J.P.
"Expecting Too Much of Performance Pay?." School Administrator, vol. 67, no. 3, 2010, pp. 22-27.
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Johnson, S.M., & Papay, J.P.
"Merit Pay for a New Generation." Educational Leadership, vol. 67, no. 8, 2010, pp. 48-52.
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| Murnane, Richard J, Papay, John P. "Teachers' Views on No Child Left Behind: Support for the Principles, Concerns about the Practices." Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 24, no. 3, 2010, pp. 151-166. |
| Papay, J. P., Murnane, R. J., Willett, J. B. "The Consequences of High School Exit Examinations for Low-Performing Urban Students: Evidence From Massachusetts." Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, vol. 32, no. 1, 2010, pp. 5-23. |
| Johnson, Susan Moore, Donaldson, Morgaen L., Munger, Mindy Sick, Papay, John P., Qazilbash, Emily K. "Leading the Local: Teachers Union Presidents Chart Their Own Course." Peabody Journal of Education, vol. 84, no. 3, 2009, pp. 374-393. |
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Johnson, S.M., & Papay, J.P.
Redesigning Teacher Pay: A System for the Next Generation of Educators. Economic Policy Institute, 2009.
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| Year | Degree | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | EdD | Harvard University |
| 2005 | EdM | Harvard University |
| 1999 | BA | Haverford College |
AERA Palmer O. Johnson Award for outstanding article appearing in an AERA-sponsored publication (with Matthew Kraft), 2015
Dissertation Fellowship for Research Related to Education, Spencer Foundation, 2010-11
Commencement Marshal, Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2011 (elected by peers)
Qualifying paper passed with Distinction, Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2008
Dean’s Summer Fellowship, Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2007 and 2008
Presidential Fellowship, Harvard University, 2005-2009
| EDUC 0300 - Introduction to Education and Society: Foundations of Opportunity and Inequality |
| EDUC 2320 - Quantitative Research Methods and Data Analysis |
| EDUC 2360 - Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation for Education |
