Rate My Professor Deven Carlson

Deven Carlson is Professor of Political Science at the University of Oklahoma, where he also serves as Presidential Research Professor, Director of Graduate Programs in Public Administration, and Associate Director for Education at the Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis. He earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2012, along with an M.A. in Political Science in 2008 and a Master of Public Affairs in 2007 from the same institution. He holds a B.A. in Political Science and Economics from St. John’s University, graduating summa cum laude in 2003. Carlson joined the University of Oklahoma in 2012 as an Assistant Professor of Political Science, advancing to Associate Professor in 2017 and full Professor in 2023. His research interests encompass education policy, housing policy, policy analysis, and policy and program evaluation, with a focus on the operations of public policies and their effects on political, social, and economic outcomes. Current projects examine the effects of school closures on academic outcomes and the relationships between educational outcomes, including postsecondary enrollment and attainment, and public program participation.

Carlson has authored or co-authored numerous peer-reviewed publications in leading journals. Key works include the book Understanding Education Indicators: A Practical Primer for Research and Policy (2010, with Michael Planty); 'A Multi-State District-Level Cluster Randomized Trial of the Impact of Data-Driven Reform on Reading and Mathematics Achievement' (Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 2011, with Geoffrey D. Borman and Michelle Robinson); 'Charter School Authorizers and Student Achievement' (Economics of Education Review, 2012, with Lesley Lavery and John F. Witte); 'School Choice and Educational Stratification' (Policy Studies Journal, 2014); and 'Socioeconomic Status, Race, and Public Support for School Integration' (AERA Open, 2021, with Elizabeth Bell). He received the American Educational Research Association Dissertation Grant sponsored by the National Science Foundation (2011-2012, $20,000), the University of Oklahoma College of Arts and Sciences Junior Faculty Fellowship (2013, $7,000), and the Best Article award for 2016 from the Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis. In 2023, he was named among the top 200 most influential education scholars on Education Week's RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings. Carlson serves as co-editor of Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis and on the editorial board of Education Finance and Policy.