Frederick M. Hess @rickhess99

Frederick M. Hess is a senior fellow and the director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he works on K–12 and higher education issues. The author of Education Week’s popular blog “Rick Hess Straight Up,” Dr. Hess is also an executive editor of Education Next, the cohost of the “Common Ground” podcast, and a regular contributor to Forbes and The Hill. He is the founder and chairman of AEI’s Conservative Education Reform Network.

As an educator, political scientist, and author, Dr. Hess has published in scholarly outlets, such as American Politics Quarterly, Harvard Education Review, Social Science Quarterly, Teachers College Record, and Urban Affairs Review. His work has also appeared in popular outlets including The Atlantic, National Affairs, National Review, The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.

His books include “A Search for Common Ground: Conversations About the Toughest Questions in K–12 Education” (Teachers College Press, 2021), “Letters to a Young Education Reformer” (Harvard Education Press, 2017), “The Cage-Busting Teacher” (Harvard Education Press, 2015), “Breakthrough Leadership in the Digital Age: Using Learning Science to Reboot Schooling” (Corwin, 2014), “Cage-Busting Leadership” (Harvard Education Press, 2013), “The Same Thing Over and Over: How School Reformers Get Stuck in Yesterday’s Ideas” (Harvard University Press, 2010), “Education Unbound: The Promise and Practice of Greenfield Schooling” (ASCD, 2010), “Common Sense School Reform” (St. Martin’s Press Griffin, 2004), “Revolution at the Margins: The Impact of Competition on Urban School Systems” (Brookings Institution Press, 2002), and “Spinning Wheels: The Politics of Urban School Reform” (Brookings Institution Press, 1998). Dr. Hess has also edited influential books on the Common Core, educational entrepreneurship, education philanthropy, the impact of education research, and the Every Student Succeeds Act.

Dr. Hess started his career as a high school social studies teacher. He has taught at the University of Virginia, the University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown University, Rice University, Johns Hopkins University, and Harvard University. Dr. Hess is also the senior founding fellow of the Public Education Foundation’s Leadership Institute of Nevada.

Dr. Hess has an MA and a PhD in government, in addition to an MEd in teaching and curriculum, from Harvard University. He also has a BA in political science from Brandeis University.

Follow AEI Education Policy on Twitter @AEIeducation

Follow Frederick M. (Rick) Hess on Twitter: @rickhess99

Experience

• Johns Hopkins University: Lecturer, Department of Political Science, The Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, 2017–present
• Harvard University: Dean’s Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2013–present
• The Public Education Foundation: Senior Founding Fellow, Leadership Institute of Nevada, 2012–present
• Harvard Education Press: Editor, Educational Innovations Series, 2008–present
• University of Pennsylvania: Adjunct Lecturer, Graduate School of Education, 2008–present
• Education Next: Executive Editor, 2001–present
• Harvard University: Research Associate, Program on Education Policy and Governance, 1998–present
• Rice University: Visiting Scholar, Jones Graduate School of Business, 2008–17
• University of Virginia: Assistant Professor of Education and Politics, 1997–2002
• East Baton Rouge Parish Public Schools, Louisiana: High School Social Studies Teacher, 1990–92

Education

PhD, MA, government; MEd, teaching and curriculum, Harvard University
BA, political science, Brandeis University