Morgan Polikoff

Morgan Polikoff
Morgan Polikoff
Professor of Education, Rossier School of Education,
University of Southern California

Morgan Polikoff is professor of education in the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. His research focuses on K–12 education policy, curriculum, standards, accountability, and assessment policy. His recent work examines curriculum material adoption and use, voter education policy preferences, and the impact of COVID-19 on families’ educational experiences. He previously served as co-editor of Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis and associate editor of the American Educational Research Journal, and he is on the editorial boards of Educational Researcher and AERA Open. Polikoff is the author of Beyond Standards: The Fragmentation of Education Governance and the Promise of Curriculum Reform and has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals. He earned his BA in mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and PhD in education policy from the University of Pennsylvania.

updated 2024

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
PACE/USC Rossier Voter Poll
Commentary by Morgan Polikoff
: For Aligned Instruction, State Must Have Aligned Standards, Assessments
Morgan Polikoff in the Media
: How California Can Fix Its School Crisis. Two PACE Projects Point the Way
: The Fight for Education—Insights from PACE Faculty Director Julie Marsh and PACE Board Advisor Carl Cohn
: What California Gov. Newsom’s Fight With a School District Says About Local Control
: The Pandemic Interrupted School for Three Years. How Long Will It Take to Fix the Damage?
: Critics Pan State’s Justification for Threatening Stanford Education Professor Over Breach of Data Contract
Publications by Morgan Polikoff
On Growth Models, Time for California to Show Some Improvement
California does not use a student-level growth model to measure school performance, which is uncommon among states. This brief refutes common beliefs about growth models and provides evidence that they are inaccurate or unsupported. It suggests that…
The Properties of Non-Academic School Performance Measures
This study examines the impact of target setting for non-academic indicators on school quality ratings in CORE districts' elementary schools. The authors found that non-academic measures of school quality vary over time, are not consistently…
Gauging the Revised California School Dashboard
Evidence from the 2019 PACE/USC Rossier Voter Poll
This brief analyzes the 2018 update of the California School Dashboard, examining improvements and areas for continued enhancement. Using data from the 2019 PACE/USC Rossier poll, the author characterizes use of and support for the Dashboard,…
Californians and Public Education
Views from the 2019 PACE/USC Rossier Poll
With a new governor, state superintendent and legislators in Sacramento and a diminished federal role in education, there is an opportunity for California’s leaders to take stock of recent educational reforms and make necessary improvements. There…