Angela Johnson, PhD
Research Scientist
Angela Johnson specializes in experimental, quasi-experimental, and mixed methods research designs. Her research focuses on identifying and reducing inequality. Much of her work is done in partnership with schools and districts, with an aim to produce findings that immediately inform practice and policy. Her ongoing projects examine academic opportunities and achievement growth for students with diverse needs, such as English Learners and students eligible for Special Education services. Before embarking on a full-time research career, she was a teacher for many years. She taught English as a second language in the US and abroad for a decade. More recently, she taught a variety of graduate-level courses on economics of education and quantitative research methods.
Dr. Johnson holds a PhD in economics of education from Stanford University and master’s degrees in economics and teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) from the University of Southern California.
Publications by Angela Johnson
The COVID-19 school year: Learning and recovery across 2020-2021
This study uses test scores from 4.9 million U.S. students in Grades 3 through 8 to examine the academic disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic by modeling student achievement trends prior to and during the pandemic, with particular focus on growth in 2020-2021.
Topics: COVID-19 & schools, Equity
The forgotten 20 percent: Achievement and growth in rural schools across the nation
New research using data from over 2,300 rural schools across the US provides unique insight into math and reading achievement of students in rural schools so educators and policymakers can better understand and support the potential needs of rural schools.
Achievement and growth for English Learners
This study reports achievement and growth from kindergarten to 4th grade for three groups of English Learners. The findings suggest summer support is required to help ELs maintain and develop academic skills.
Topics: English Language Learners, Equity, Seasonal learning patterns & summer loss
Achievement and growth for English Learners
This study reports achievement and growth from kindergarten to 4th grade for three groups of English Learners. The findings suggest summer support is required to help ELs maintain and develop academic skills.
Topics: English Language Learners, Equity, Seasonal learning patterns & summer loss
Supporting students with disabilities throughout the year
Students with disabilities lose even more ground than peers during summer and other interruptions in their learning—but they don’t need to. Data point to a need for services that extend beyond the school year.
The forgotten 20 percent: Achievement and growth in rural schools across the nation
Using achievement data from fall and spring of grades K-8 for 840,000 students in 8,800 public schools, this study provides novel evidence on how achievement and growth differ between rural and nonrural schools. Rural students start kindergarten slightly ahead of nonrural students but fall behind by middle school. The divergence is driven by larger summer losses for rural students. In both rural and nonrural schools, Black–White achievement gaps widen during the school year.
Topics: Equity, Growth modeling, Seasonal learning patterns & summer loss
Understanding the initial educational impacts of COVID-19 on communities of color
This report examines the academic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) students, with the goal of documenting achievement trends to provide leaders and policymakers with evidence to guide action to address educational inequities for BIPOC students.
Topics: COVID-19 & schools, Equity
