Seth Gershenson is Professor of Public Policy in the School of Public Affairs (SPA) at American University. He is also Research Fellow at the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Senior Technical Advisor to Institute for Education Policy at Johns Hopkins, and Coordinator of SPA’s Analytics and Management Institute. Professor Gershenson works broadly in the economics of education and education policy, with specific interests in teacher labor markets, summer learning loss, student absences, community-wide shocks, teacher expectations and implicit bias, and the causes and consequences of the underrepresentation of teachers of color. His research has been funded by the Smith-Richardson Foundation, Spencer Foundation, American Educational Research Association, W.E. Upjohn Institute, Association for Institutional Research, and Google; published in leading education-policy academic journals; and featured in media outlets such as USA Today, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, NPR, The Washington Post, Huffington Post, vox.com, NBC News, and The Atlantic. Professor Gershenson received his Ph.D. in Economics from Michigan State University in 2011. You can learn more about Professor Gershenson’s research here.
Seth Gershenson
EdWorkingPapers
Spillover Effects of Black Teachers on White Teachers’ Racial Competency: Mixed Methods Evidence from North Carolina
The US teaching force remains disproportionately white while the student body grows more diverse. It is therefore important to understand how and under what conditions white teachers learn racial competency. This study applies a mixed-methods approach to investigate the hypothesis that Black… more →
Making the Grade: The Effect of Teacher Grading Standards on Student Outcomes
Teachers are among the most important inputs in the education production function. One mechanism by which teachers might affect student learning is through the grading standards they set for their classrooms. However, the effects of grading standards on student outcomes are relatively… more →
Blurred Boundaries: A Day in the Life of a Teacher
The burnout, stress, and work-life balance challenges faced by teachers have received renewed interest due to the myriad disruptions and changes to K-12 schooling brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, even prior to the pandemic relatively little was known about teachers’ time use… more →
Identifying and Producing Effective Teachers
Teachers are among the most important school-provided determinants of student success. Effective teachers improve students’ test scores as well as their attendance, behavior, and earnings as adults. However, students do not enjoy equal access to effective teachers. This article reviews some of… more →
Stress Test: Examining the Evolution of Teachers’ Mental Health Over Time
Teaching is often assumed to be a relatively stressful occupation and occupational stress among teachers has been linked to poor mental health, attrition from the profession, and decreased effectiveness in the classroom. Despite widespread concern about teachers’ mental health, however, little… more →