Yesterday, we unveiled the 2020 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings. Of course, over the years, readers also wanted to see how scholars fared when it came to particular fields of study. After all, education research includes a lot of people doing very different kinds of work. Consequently, where scholars rank overall may be less telling than where they rank within their field. Today, we’ll report on the top 10 finishers for five disciplinary categories, as well as the top junior faculty. (For a detailed discussion of how the scoring was done, see this post.)
Now, there can be ambiguity when it comes to determining a given scholar’s discipline. For the most part, my invaluable research assistants (RJ Martin, Matt Rice, and Hannah Warren) worked off of CVs, relying primarily on a scholar’s earned degree. In the handful of cases where that didn’t do the trick, I made a judgment call. So, if you think I’ve made the wrong call on someone, just let me know, and we’ll do our best to make appropriate adjustments next year.
Curriculum, Instruction, and Administration
| Ranking | Name | Affiliation | Google Scholar | Book Points | Highest Amazon | Syllabus Points | Newspaper Mentions | Education Press | Web Mentions | Congressional Record | Twitter handle | Total | |
| 1 | Linda Darling-Hammond | Stanford | 50.0 | 20.0 | 16.0 | 9.0 | 16.0 | 20.0 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 6.5 | LDH_ed | 162.5 |
| 2 | Jo Boaler | Stanford | 45.0 | 20.0 | 19.6 | 10.0 | 4.0 | 12.0 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 7.3 | joboaler | 142.9 |
| 3 | Gloria Ladson-Billings | U. Wisconsin-Madison | 50.0 | 19.0 | 15.4 | 10.0 | 4.0 | 18.0 | 12.9 | 0.0 | 5.1 | gjladson | 134.4 |
| 4 | Sam Wineburg | Stanford | 48.0 | 6.0 | 17.6 | 10.0 | 9.0 | 5.0 | 7.8 | 0.0 | 5.9 | samwineburg | 109.3 |
| 5 | Andy Hargreaves | Boston College | 50.0 | 18.5 | 9.3 | 4.4 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 16.0 | 0.0 | 6.2 | HargreavesBC | 108.3 |
| 6 | Yong Zhao | U. Kansas | 50.0 | 20.0 | 12.3 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 8.4 | 0.0 | 5.8 | YongZhaoEd | 103.4 |
| 7 | Larry Cuban | Stanford | 50.0 | 20.0 | 12.5 | 4.7 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 4.7 | 0.0 | 4.0 | CubanLarry | 102.0 |
| 8 | Nel Noddings | Stanford | 50.0 | 20.0 | 7.4 | 10.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 8.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 97.2 | |
| 9 | Richard (Dick) Elmore | Harvard | 50.0 | 17.5 | 12.4 | 2.9 | 0.0 | 8.0 | 2.8 | 0.0 | 0.1 | RichardElmore3 | 93.7 |
| 10 | Nell K. Duke | U. Michigan | 35.0 | 12.0 | 14.5 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 7.9 | 0.0 | 6.2 | nellkduke | 81.7 |
Economics
| Ranking | Name | Affiliation | Google Scholar | Book Points | Highest Amazon | Syllabus Points | Newspaper Mentions | Education Press | Web Mentions | Congressional Record | Twitter handle | Total | |
| 1 | Raj Chetty | Harvard | 49.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 2.3 | 30.0 | 28.0 | 25.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 139.8 | |
| 2 | Eric (Rick) A. Hanushek | Stanford | 50.0 | 13.5 | 0.0 | 5.2 | 10.0 | 14.0 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | EricHanushek | 118.7 |
| 3 | Josh Angrist | MIT | 50.0 | 1.0 | 17.9 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 23.8 | 0.0 | 4.6 | metrics52 | 99.9 |
| 4 | Henry (Hank) Levin | Columbia (TC) | 50.0 | 20.0 | 10.1 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 93.0 | |
| 5 | Richard (Dick) J. Murnane | Harvard | 50.0 | 6.5 | 15.0 | 3.3 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 9.8 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 91.6 | |
| 6 | Caroline M. Hoxby | Stanford | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.7 | 16.0 | 9.0 | 12.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 90.5 | |
| 7 | Greg J. Duncan | UC Irvine | 50.0 | 7.0 | 6.0 | 3.3 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 16.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 87.8 | |
| 8 | Sarah E. Turner | U. Virginia | 36.0 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 9.0 | 13.0 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 1.1 | turnersarahe | 85.8 |
| 9 | W. Steven Barnett | Rutgers | 50.0 | 6.0 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 9.0 | 2.0 | 12.6 | 0.0 | 0.1 | wstevenbarnett | 81.4 |
| 10 | Martin Carnoy | Stanford | 50.0 | 20.0 | 0.0 | 2.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 79.3 |
Government and Policy
| Ranking | Name | Affiliation | Google Scholar | Book Points | Highest Amazon | Syllabus Points | Newspaper Mentions | Education Press | Web Mentions | Congressional Record | Twitter handle | Total | |
| 1 | Gary Orfield | UCLA | 50.0 | 20.0 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 17.0 | 0.0 | 17.2 | 0.0 | 4.2 | orfieldtweet | 110.0 |
| 2 | William (Bill) G. Tierney | USC | 50.0 | 20.0 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 13.0 | 2.0 | 9.3 | 0.0 | 1.8 | TierneyBill | 96.9 |
| 3 | Bruce D. Baker | Rutgers | 36.0 | 6.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 26.0 | 4.0 | 16.5 | 0.0 | 6.9 | SchlFinance101 | 95.8 |
| 4 | Rob Reich | Stanford | 24.0 | 6.0 | 16.9 | 0.4 | 23.0 | 1.0 | 18.3 | 0.0 | 6.0 | robreich | 95.7 |
| 5 | Terry M. Moe | Stanford | 50.0 | 15.0 | 9.3 | 8.8 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 7.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 95.3 | |
| 6 | Paul E. Peterson | Harvard | 50.0 | 20.0 | 0.0 | 6.2 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 12.1 | 0.0 | 0.5 | Paul_E_Peterson | 94.8 |
| 7 | Robert Kelchen | Seton Hall | 14.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 30.0 | 30.0 | 11.9 | 0.0 | 6.2 | rkelchen | 94.1 |
| 8 | Jeannie Oakes | UCLA | 50.0 | 10.5 | 9.1 | 8.6 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 4.6 | 0.0 | 0.8 | Jeannie_Oakes | 85.6 |
| 9 | Patrick J. Wolf | U. Arkansas | 38.0 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 9.0 | 2.0 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 5.6 | P_Diddy_Wolf | 81.7 |
| 10 | Michael Kirst | Stanford | 50.0 | 13.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 6.0 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 2.1 | Michael_Kirst | 79.1 |
Psychology
| Ranking | Name | Affiliation | Google Scholar | Book Points | Highest Amazon | Syllabus Points | Newspaper Mentions | Education Press | Web Mentions | Congressional Record | Twitter handle | Total | |
| 1 | Carol Dweck | Stanford | 50.0 | 4.0 | 20.0 | 10.0 | 27.0 | 27.0 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 163.0 | |
| 2 | Howard Gardner | Harvard | 50.0 | 20.0 | 16.4 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 7.0 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 5.6 | DrHowardGardner | 144.0 |
| 3 | Angela Duckworth | U. Penn | 50.0 | 2.0 | 19.9 | 3.1 | 21.0 | 5.0 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 6.4 | angeladuckw | 132.4 |
| 4 | Carol A. Tomlinson | U. Virginia | 50.0 | 20.0 | 18.2 | 10.0 | 0.0 | 14.0 | 4.8 | 0.0 | 3.4 | cat3y | 120.4 |
| 5 | Daniel Willingham | U. Virginia | 50.0 | 11.0 | 17.3 | 8.6 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 8.8 | 0.0 | 6.9 | DTWillingham | 117.6 |
| 6 | Claude Steele | Stanford | 50.0 | 2.0 | 18.7 | 9.2 | 9.0 | 2.0 | 11.7 | 0.0 | 0.1 | cmasonsteele | 102.8 |
| 7 | David C. Berliner | Arizona State | 50.0 | 11.5 | 9.3 | 4.3 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 12.1 | 0.0 | 0.9 | DavidCBerliner | 96.2 |
| 8 | Robert (Bob) C. Pianta | U. Virginia | 50.0 | 9.5 | 4.1 | 6.5 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 20.6 | 0.0 | 0.1 | bobpianta | 93.9 |
| 9 | Catherine Snow | Harvard | 50.0 | 20.0 | 0.0 | 9.4 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 8.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 92.9 | |
| 10 | Gene V. Glass | Arizona State | 50.0 | 14.5 | 1.5 | 4.4 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 10.5 | 0.0 | 2.2 | GeneVGlass | 85.1 |
Sociology
| Ranking | Name | Affiliation | Google Scholar | Book Points | Highest Amazon | Syllabus Points | Newspaper Mentions | Education Press | Web Mentions | Congressional Record | Twitter handle | Total | |
| 1 | Pedro Noguera | UCLA | 43.0 | 10.0 | 9.8 | 2.6 | 30.0 | 12.0 | 22.0 | 0.0 | 6.4 | PedroANoguera | 135.8 |
| 2 | Sara Goldrick-Rab | Temple | 30.0 | 3.0 | 12.6 | 0.3 | 30.0 | 24.0 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 7.8 | saragoldrickrab | 132.7 |
| 3 | Robert E. Slavin | Johns Hopkins | 50.0 | 20.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 8.4 | 0.0 | 4.3 | RobertSlavin | 106.7 |
| 4 | Shaun R. Harper | USC | 50.0 | 8.0 | 7.5 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 12.0 | 10.9 | 0.0 | 5.2 | DrShaunHarper | 102.7 |
| 5 | Marc Lamont Hill | Temple | 16.0 | 9.0 | 10.7 | 0.5 | 30.0 | 1.0 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 9.0 | marclamonthill | 101.2 |
| 6 | Bruce Fuller | UC Berkeley | 50.0 | 14.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 9.0 | 2.0 | 7.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 84.4 | |
| 7 | Sean F. Reardon | Stanford | 50.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 15.0 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 0.0 | 0.6 | seanfreardon | 82.1 |
| 8 | William (Bill) F. Tate | Washington U. | 28.0 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 30.0 | 6.0 | 7.8 | 0.0 | 4.7 | WFTate4 | 80.4 |
| 9 | Tyrone Howard | UCLA | 33.0 | 7.5 | 11.3 | 1.7 | 11.0 | 2.0 | 8.4 | 0.0 | 5.4 | TyroneCHoward | 80.3 |
| 10 | Mike Rose | UCLA | 28.0 | 13.0 | 12.5 | 10.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 16.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 80.1 |
Junior Faculty
| Ranking | Name | Affiliation | Google Scholar | Book Points | Highest Amazon | Syllabus Points | Newspaper Mentions | Education Press | Web Mentions | Congressional Record | Twitter handle | Total | |
| 1 | Anthony Jack | Harvard | 6.0 | 2.0 | 19.0 | 0.1 | 7.0 | 5.0 | 9.1 | 0.0 | 5.8 | tony_jack | 53.9 |
| 2 | Jack Schneider | U. Massachusetts Lowell | 11.0 | 6.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 10.0 | 7.0 | 4.4 | 0.0 | 6.0 | Edu_Historian | 44.6 |
| 3 | Anna Egalite | North Carolina State | 16.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 5.5 | annaegalite | 26.5 |
| 4 | Eric Taylor | Harvard | 13.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8.6 | 0.0 | 0.1 | eric_s_taylor | 22.1 |
The tables pretty much speak for themselves. The top finisher in Curriculum, Instruction, and Administration was Linda Darling-Hammond; in Economics, Raj Chetty; in Government and Policy, Gary Orfield; in Psychology, Carol Dweck; and, in Sociology, Pedro Noguera.
Beyond the disciplinary breakdowns, I also want to give a special nod to junior faculty who made the list. Given that the rankings, by design, favor scholars who’ve built bodies of work and had a sustained impact, the junior faculty who fare well deserve particular notice. (Indeed, readers will note that the list of junior faculty only includes four names.) Harvard’s Anthony Jack topped the junior faculty chart this year, coming in 140th overall. The other junior faculty to make the Edu-Scholar 200 were University of Massachusetts-Lowell’s Jack Schneider, North Carolina State’s Anna Egalite, and Harvard’s Eric Taylor.
Well, that wraps up the 2020 Edu-Scholar Rankings. We’ll do this all again next year; same time, same place. Next week, we’ll return to our regularly scheduled programming.
Frederick Hess is director of education policy studies at AEI and an executive editor at Education Next.
This post originally appeared on Rick Hess Straight Up.
