Heather J. Hough

heather_hough
Heather J. Hough
Senior Policy and Research Fellow,
Policy Analysis for California Education, Stanford University

Heather J. Hough is a senior research and policy fellow and former executive director of Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) at Stanford University. As executive director, she led major statewide initiatives connecting research, policy, and practice. Hough is also an independent consultant and nationally recognized expert in education policy and governance. She works with state and local leaders to strengthen education systems with a focus on strategic planning, policy coherence, system improvement, and collaborative decision making. Her consulting practice helps organizations translate evidence into action by aligning goals, policies, and resources to improve student outcomes and rebuild public trust in education. She is an active volunteer and board member at the local and state levels, where she advances meaningful policy changes that improve people’s lives and strengthen public services delivery. Hough received her PhD in education policy from Stanford University.

updated 2025

Contributing topics
Access, quality & alignment in early childhood education
College access & postsecondary success
Continuous school improvement & support
Education finance
Educational governance & policy
Educator workforce & effectiveness
Supporting students’ social-emotional, mental & physical health
Understanding, measuring & improving student outcomes
Contributing initiatives
Continuous Improvement and Support Systems in California
CORE-PACE Research Partnership
COVID-19 Recovery
Getting Down To Facts II
LCFF Research Collaborative
Organizing Schools to Serve Students with Disabilities
PACE/USC Rossier Voter Poll
Commentary by Heather J. Hough
: Why Aren’t Students Showing Up for School?: Understanding the Complexity Behind Rising Rates of Chronic Absenteeism
: Chronic Absenteeism Post-Pandemic: Let’s Not Make This Our “New Normal”
: California Test Scores Show the Devastating Impact of the Pandemic on Student Learning
: Implementing a Restorative Restart by Planning for the Four Ts: Time, Talent, Training, and Technology/Materials
: COVID-19 and the Educational Equity Crisis: Evidence on Learning Loss From the CORE Data Collaborative
Heather J. Hough in the Media
A Truce in the Accountability Wars: Accountability, Assessment, and Oversight, Politics of Change—PACE Senior Policy and Research Fellow Heather Hough
 | Center on Reinventing Public Education
PACE Report Calls for Overhauling How California Runs Its Schools
 | EdSource
Santa Barbara’s Enrollment Decline Reflects Wider California Trends
 | Santa Barbara Independent
Covid’s Long Shadow in California: Chronic Absences, Student Depression and the Limits of Money
 | EdSource
Bay Area School Enrollment Plunges as Families Flee High-Cost Region
 | The Mercury News
Publications by Heather J. Hough
Using Data for Improvement
Learning from the CORE Data Collaborative
Effective data use is crucial for continuous improvement, but there is confusion about how it differs from data use for other purposes. This report explains what data are most useful for continuous improvement and presents a case study of how the…
Towards a Common Vision of Continuous Improvement for California
CA is shifting the responsibility for school improvement to local school districts with County Offices of Education playing a supportive role. The focus is on local leaders driving educational improvement and ensuring quality. Strategic data use is…
Measuring Social Emotional Learning Through Student Surveys in the CORE Districts
A Pragmatic Approach to Validity and Reliability
This report discusses the validity and reliability of CORE Districts’ social-emotional learning (SEL) student-report surveys. Through a pragmatic approach, the report answers four guiding questions that explain different facets of validity for…
Trends in Student Social-Emotional Learning
Evidence from the CORE Districts
This study examines how social-emotional skills develop from Grade 4 to Grade 12 and vary by gender, socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity. Based on self-report student surveys administered to around 400,000 students in California, the study…