Neal Finkelstein

Neal Finkelstein
Neal Finkelstein
Senior Research Scientist,
WestEd

Neal Finkelstein is a senior research scientist and director of the Innovation Studies Program at WestEd. His work focuses on connecting research, practice, and policy across K–12 and higher education systems. He works nationally on education evaluations and their implications for education systems and policy design. Finkelstein's current research includes high school completion patterns and the transition to postsecondary education; middle school mathematics teaching and learning; diagnostic uses of school-based data systems; school governance systems; and educational productivity. Prior to joining WestEd, Finkelstein served as director of educational outreach research and evaluation for the University of California Office of the President and was senior program officer for the National Research Council. He received his PhD in education policy and management from the University of California, Berkeley.

updated 2018

Contributing topics
Access, quality & alignment in early childhood education
College access & postsecondary success
Education finance
Educational governance & policy
Supporting students’ social-emotional, mental & physical health
Understanding, measuring & improving student outcomes
Contributing initiatives
Getting Down To Facts II
Neal Finkelstein in the Media
: A 4th Year of High School Math for CSU Admissions? Just the Idea Triggers Debate
: Mathematics Course-taking in California's Middle and High Schools: Patterns and Implications
: Decentralizing Resources in Los Angeles High Schools: California’s Quality Education Investment Act
Publications by Neal Finkelstein
GDTFII Brief Standard
Implementing the Common Core State Standards in California Schools
A Work in Progress
California state leaders are asking new things of school leaders, teachers, and students. The past decade has been a time of significant education reform. The transition began with the adoption of new academic standards for English language arts and…
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Decentralizing Resources in Los Angeles High Schools
California’s Quality Education Investment Act
In a new PACE Working Paper, Margaret Bridges and Bruce Fuller from the University of California, Berkeley; Andrew McEachin and Icela Pelayo, from University of Southern California; and Neal Finkelstein from WestEd, San Francisco worked together to…
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Crucial Issues in California Education 2000
Are the Reform Pieces Fitting Together?
"Crucial Issues in California Education 2000" is a successor to "Conditions of Education," a PACE publication since 1984. Conditions combined up-to-date data and ongoing trends in a wide variety of indicators relevant to state education policy. In…
Child Care and Development Services for Children and Families: Phase III Final Report, Part 2
California Cares
Child Care and Development Services for Children and Families—Phase III Final Report, Part 2
Phase III was designed to further analyze the preliminary recommendations and to utilize the assistance of childcare and development community to re­design childcare and development policy. Professional judgment and experience was sought from…