Courtney Bell

Director, Wisconsin Center for Education Research; Professor of Learning Sciences,

University of Wisconsin–Madison

Courtney Bell is the director of the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) and a professor of learning sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She previously spent over a decade as a researcher at Educational Testing Service (ETS), where she led the international development of two teacher observation systems and served as principal investigator on the Global Teaching InSights study, the first comprehensive effort to measure teaching quality across eight economies. A former high school science teacher, her research focuses on understanding and improving teaching for historically underserved children. Her interdisciplinary work spans parental choice, teacher learning, performance assessments, international comparisons of teaching, and the measurement of teaching quality. Bell earned her PhD in curriculum, teaching, and educational policy from Michigan State University.

updated 2025

Contributing topics

Educator workforce & effectiveness

Contributing initiatives

Getting Down To Facts II

Publications by Courtney Bell

September 2018

Improving Teacher Practice

California aims to improve the quality of teaching in its classrooms by focusing on teacher preparation and evaluation. The state's teacher preparation system aligns with standards but lacks consistent implementation. Disconnected information…