Susan Moffitt

Susan Moffitt
Susan Moffitt
ohn Hazen White Professor of Public Policy, Chair and Professor of Political Science, Brown University,
Brown University

Susan Moffitt is the John Hazen White Professor of Public Policy and professor and chair of political science at Brown University. Her research focuses on American political institutions and public policy, particularly the politics of information gathering, distribution, and use in education and public health policy implementation. She is the author of Making Policy Public: Participatory Bureaucracy in American Democracy and (with David K. Cohen) The Ordeal of Equality: Did Federal Regulation Fix the Schools? Her work has appeared in American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Perspectives on Politics, Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, American Journal of Education, Medical Care, Policy Studies Journal, Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, History of Education Quarterly, and RSF: Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences. She was a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University and a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar in Health Policy Research. Moffitt earned an MPP and a PhD in political science from the University of Michigan.

updated 2025

Contributing topics
Access, quality & alignment in early childhood education
Continuous school improvement & support
Education finance
Educational governance & policy
Educator workforce & effectiveness
Understanding, measuring & improving student outcomes
Contributing initiatives
Getting Down To Facts II
LCFF Research Collaborative
Susan Moffitt in the Media
: Major National Research Project Finds California Education Beginning on Right Path; Improvements on Reforms Needed
: California Department of Education Limited in Ability to Help Districts Improve, Report Says
: A Future in Flux: What Next for the California Department of Education?
: Small Rise in California’s Math and Reading Scores in 2018
: Creating Coherent Systems to Support Education Improvement
Publications by Susan Moffitt
GDTFII Brief Standard
Implementing the Common Core State Standards in California Schools
A Work in Progress
California has implemented new academic standards for English, math, and science, and changed how school districts are funded and held accountable. Educators face challenges implementing these standards, requiring changes in teaching, learning, and…
GDTFII Brief Governance
Creating Coherent Systems to Support Education Improvement
California's implementation of Common Core State Standards and Local Control Funding Formula requires new support systems for districts, including professional networks and the California Department of Education. Successful implementation requires…