Frederick M. Hess is a resident scholar and director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. He is also executive editor of Education Next. He is best known for his work on a broad range of K-12 and higher education issues including accountability in education, charter schooling and school choice, the politics of education reform, collective bargaining, No Child Left Behind, teacher and administrative preparation, certification and licensing, school governance, college affordability, and the importance of entrepreneurship.

Dr. Hess's books include No Remedy Left Behind (AEI Press 2007), Footing the Tuition Bill (AEI Press 2007), Educational Entrepreneurship (Harvard Education Press 2006), No Child Left Behind: A Primer (Peter Lang 2006), Tough Love for Schools (AEI Press 2006), With the Best of Intentions (Harvard Education Press 2005), Urban School Reform (Harvard Education Press 2005), Leaving No Child Behind? (Palgrave Macmillan 2004), Common Sense School Reform (Palgrave Macmillan 2004), A Qualified Teacher in Every Classroom? (Harvard Education Press 2004), Revolution at the Margins (Brookings Institution Press 2002), School Choice in the Real World (Westview 1999), Spinning Wheels (Brookings Institution Press 1999), and Bringing the Social Sciences Alive (Allyn & Bacon 1999). He has also authored influential monographs including "Tear Down This Wall: The Case for a Radical Overhaul of Teacher Certification" (Progressive Policy Institute 2001), "A License to Lead? A New Leadership Agenda for America's Schools" (Progressive Policy Institute 2003), and "A Better Bargain: Overhauling Teacher Collective Bargaining for the 21st Century" (Harvard University 2006).

In addition, Dr. Hess's work has appeared in scholarly journals including Social Science Quarterly, American Politics Quarterly, Teachers College Record, the Journal of Teacher Education, Policy Studies Journal, Educational Policy, Education and Urban Society, and Urban Affairs Review. He has also written for general interest publications like National Review, the Weekly Standard, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and Philanthropy, and for educational publications such as the American School Board Journal, Phi Delta Kappan, Education Week, Educational Leadership, and School Administrator.

Dr. Hess is also a faculty associate of the Harvard University Program in Education Policy and Governance and serves as Innovations Advisor in Education and Training for the Ash Institute at Harvard University. He is on the Review Board for the Broad Prize in Urban Education, the Research Advisory Board for the National Center for Educational Accountability, and the Charter School Accreditation Advisory Board of the American Academy for Liberal Education. He is also a senior research associate for the School Choice Demonstration Project at Georgetown University. From 2001-2003, he served on the National Working Commission on Choice in K-12 Education.

A former public high school social studies teacher in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Dr. Hess has held teaching licenses in Louisiana and Massachusetts. He holds an M.Ed. in Teaching and Curriculum and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University. Prior to joining AEI, Dr. Hess taught education and politics at the University of Virginia and served as a senior fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute.