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Christine Andrews Paulsen, Ph.D. cpaulsen@air.org Primary Interests Program Evaluation Social Policy Research Educational Psychology Early Childhood Development

Christine has a Ph.D. in Education Policy Research, Evaluation, and Measurement from the University of Pennsylvania, where she spent two years at the Center for Research in Education and Social Policy participating in policy research on the demand and shortage of special education teachers. She also holds a Master's degree in Applied Social Psychology from the George Washington University, and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Clark University.

For over two and a half years, Christine has worked as a Research Analyst at the American Institutes for Research. Her current special education projects include working with OSEP's Research to Practice Division to develop indicators and collect data measuring OSEP's progress in meeting its objectives related to the Government Performance and Results Act. She is also helping to design and carry out the evaluation of the Elementary and Middle School Technical Assistance Center (EMSTAC). Christine is also currently supporting OSEP in developing a research synthesis of assistive technologies for students with disabilities that can provide stakeholders with general principles to help them gain access to such technologies.

Christine has been involved in the development of Focus Study instruments for the evaluation of state and local implementation of IDEA '97 (SLIIDEA). This entailed conceptualizing and developing survey instruments, interview and focus group protocols, observation tools, and IEP checklists. These instruments will be used with various stakeholders at the state and local level, including general and special education teachers, parents of students with disabilities, and education administrators.

Other recent projects include serving as Task Leader on a Task Order for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The purpose of this Task Order was to assist ASPE in developing a policy agenda and communication strategy that will help to facilitate information sharing between policy makers and evaluators in the field. Christine has also recently co-managed the Cognitive Laboratory at AIR, in which the validity of reading and math achievement test items was evaluated by asking students with and without disabilities to think aloud as they responded to items. At AIR, Christine has also participated in the development and pilot testing of a monitoring instrument for Head Start.

Prior to joining AIR, Christine participated in educational policy research at the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research included evaluating state educational reform policy and school finance policy. She also led an evaluation of a Federally-funded drug and alcohol prevention program for the Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research. At the Institute for Social Analysis, Christine evaluated programs designed to address substance abuse and community health with a special emphasis on at-risk youth, workplace, and minority populations. All of these projects involved report writing and presenting findings to policy makers and other interested stakeholders. Christine also has several years of experience in crisis intervention and community-based mental health counseling.

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