Lauren Sue Scher

Lauren Scher’s work focuses on K-12 education and family support programs and policies, particularly those targeted toward at-risk children and youth.

She directs a project for the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education to provide technical support on evidence-building and evidence use. She also plays a lead role on technical assistance projects supporting the evaluation needs of teen pregnancy prevention grantees funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In addition, she leads a cost analysis examining the spending patterns of turnaround schools, part of a broader project aimed at understanding the effects of the Philadelphia School District’s Renaissance turnaround initiative. She also conducts systematic reviews for projects such as the What Works Clearinghouse.

Scher is a member of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness, and the American Educational Research Association. She holds a Ph.D. in education policy from the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.