David N. Plank

David Plank
David N. Plank
Professor (Research) Emeritus,
Stanford Graduate School of Education

David Plank was the executive director of PACE for 11 years. Before joining PACE, he was a professor at Michigan State University, where he founded and directed the Education Policy Center. Plank is the author or editor of six books, including the AERA Handbook of Education Policy Research. He has published widely in a number of fields, including economics of education, history of education, and educational policy. His interests include the role of the state in education and the relationship between academic research and public policy. In addition to his work in the U.S., Plank has extensive international experience. He received his PhD from the University of Chicago.

updated 2021

Publications by David N. Plank
Research Center Celebrates a Quarter Century as Leader in Legislative Policy Analysis
When PACE was founded in the early 1980s, California's schools were in turmoil following the passage of Proposition 13, which indirectly limited public education funding. Twenty-five years later, in 2008, Proposition 13 is still intact, the state's…
As the "Year of Education" draws to a close, PACE is reviving its signature publication, Conditions of Education in California, in order to sustain focus on the long-term comprehensive educational reforms that California needs. In this edition of…
Continuous Improvement in California’s Education System
In a new PACE Policy Brief, Susanna Loeb and David N. Plank argue that to raise student performance and satisfy public expectations California’s education system must be transformed into a continuously improving system that encourages innovation,…
California’s struggle to close the racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic achievement gaps among its groups of students mirrors that of every other state. But compared with other states, the challenge in California is by every measure more daunting. Gaps…