Chase Nordengren, PhD
Principal Research Lead, Effective Instructional Strategies

Chase Nordengren, PhD, is the principal research lead for Effective Instructional Strategies at NWEA. His work supports the long-term growth and development of the Learning and Improvement Services teams through primary research, thought leadership, and strategic planning. With insatiable curiosity, Chase works closely with leading scholars from around the globe to turn theory into actionable practices to drive instructional improvement. He received a PhD in leadership, policy, and organizations in Kā12 systems from the University of Washington and is the author of Step into Student Goal Setting: A Path to Growth, Motivation, and Agency from Corwin Press.
Featured industry publications
These items were published outside of NWEA.
BOOK
Step Into Student Goal Setting (Jan 2022)
Nordengren, C. (2022) Step into Student Goal Setting. Corwin. https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/step-into-student-goal-setting/book277600
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Chart a Clear Course (Oct 2020)
Nordengren, C., & Guskey, T. R. (2020). Chart a clear course: Evaluation is key to building better, more relevant learning. The Learning Professional. https://learningforward.org/journal/supporting-each-other/chart-a-clear-course/
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Development and validation of a survey on outcomes of professional learning (Dec 2020)
Nordengren, C. R. (2020). Development and validation of a survey on outcomes of professional learning. Professional Development in Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2020.1862276
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Goal-setting practices that support a learning culture (July 2019)
Nordengren, C. (2019). Goal-setting practices that support a learning culture. Phi Delta Kappan, 101(1), 18ā23. https://doi.org/10.1177/0031721719871558
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Starting the Conversation About Alternative Grading Systems
Nordengren, C. (2021). Starting the Conversation About Alternative Grading Systems. Edutopia,
https://www.edutopia.org/article/starting-conversation-about-alternative-grading-systems
Featured Resource Center publications
WHITE PAPER
The Transformative Ten: Instructional Strategies Learned from High Growth Schools
This paper describes high quality teaching practices in two schools that produce exceptional growth for all kinds of students. These practices focus on making the most of instructional time and exposing students to high quality content in a variety of contexts. They prove teachers donāt need to choose between differentiating to meet studentsā needs and giving them access to grade-level learning.
WHITE PAPER
Focusing Squarely on Students: A Theory of Change for NWEA Professional Learning
Every professional learning provider should be able to clearly articulate their theory of change: the relationship between their offerings and improvements in learning for students. Hereās ours.
PODCAST
Why do we grade?
The pandemic revealed stark flaws in traditional grading protocols and simultaneously presented a profound opportunity for actual change. What should educators, families, and society in general consider around why change is needed and where to begin?
VIDEO
Empower teachers with tailor made professional learning
We want our PL to apply to practice, and that requires a partnership, where educators also come ready to learn, ready to be challenged, and ready to start thinking about instruction differently.ā
WEBINAR
Working Smart: An action plan for school restart
Join researchers Dr. Chase Nordengren and Dr. Nate Jensen to learn how MAP Growth can help support fall 2020 school restart plans
JOURNAL ARTICLE
āNo fun gamesā: Engagement effects of two gameful assessment prototypes
Assessments with features of games propose to address student motivation deficits common in traditional assessments. This study examines the impact of two āgameful assessmentā prototypes on student engagement and teacher perceptions among 391 Grades 3ā7 students and 14 teachers in one Midwestern and one Northwestern school.
Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 50(2) 134-148.