Faculty Directory
Shaun M. Dougherty
Professor of Education & Policy
Department Chair, Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics, and Assessment
Program Director, Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics, & Assessment, Ph.D.
Shaun M. Dougherty
Ed.D.
Contact
Telephone: 617-522-4185
Email: shaun.dougherty@bc.edu
ORCID
Education
- Ed.D., Harvard University, Quantitative Policy Analysis
- M.S.,Gwynedd Mercy University
- B.S., University of Massachusetts, Mathematics
Courses
Readings and Research in Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation
Readings and Research in Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics, and Assessment
Multivariate Statistical Analysis
Design of Experiments and Causal Inference
Intermediate Statistics
Expertise
- Higher Education
- Educational Leadership & Policy
- Educational Policy
- Research Methods, Evaluation & Psychometrics
Department
Biography
Shaun M. Dougherty is Professor of Education & Policy at Boston College鈥檚 Lynch School of Education & Human Development and chair of the Department of Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics, and Assessment. His research asks how schools translate public investment into economic opportunity, and for whom. Using causal research designs and administrative data from multiple states, he has produced much of the recent evidence on the effects of career and technical education on graduation, college-going, and earnings, including for students with disabilities, and on the teachers, costs, and accountability systems that shape those outcomes. He co-leads the IES-funded Career and Technical Education Research Network and the multistate CTE Policy Exchange, and he served as Senior Advisor in the Office of the Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Education. He is a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, an associate editor of the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, and former editor-in-chief of the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness. His work appears in leading economics, policy, and education journals and has been supported by IES, Arnold Ventures, and the Smith Richardson Foundation.
Selected Recent Publications
Dougherty's research evaluates the impact of educational policies and programs, with an emphasis on human capital development, public investments, and the economics of education.
- Brunner, E.J., Dougherty, S.M., Ross, S.L., (In press) Do Career & Technical Education High Schools Improve Transition Outcomes for Students with Disabilities? Educational Researcher. Available as a working paper: https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w32867/w32867.pdf聽聽
- Dougherty, S.M., Smith, M., & Kelly, B. Rural Early Childhood Programs & School Readiness: An Evaluation of the Early Steps to School Success Program. (2025), Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10824669.2025.2533741#abstract
- Childs, J., Dougherty, S.M., Kistler, H., (2024), Can Career Academies Work as a School Turnaround Strategy? Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis
- Carruthers, C., Dougherty, S.M., Goldring, T., Kreisman, D., Theobald, R., Urban, C., Villero, J.. (2024) Career and Technical Education Alignment Across Five States, AERA Open, https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584241276504
- Donaldson, M.L., Mavrogordato, M., Dougherty, S.M., Al Ghanem, R., and Youngs, P., (2024) Principals鈥� Priorities, Teacher Evaluation, and Instructional Leadership, Educational Researcher, https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X241273903
- Kistler, H., Dougherty, SM., Woods, S.C, (2024) Teacher Exit and Educational Opportunity: Lessons from Career & Technical Education, Educational Researcher, 53(3), 156-166. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X231223132
- Dougherty, S.M. & Smith, M.M,. (2024) At What Cost? Is Career and Technical Education Worth the Investment? Education Finance & Policy. Prior version available as Annenberg Institute EdWorking Papershttps://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai22-640
Grants & Fellowships
- Jabbari, J.F., Dougherty, S.M. (Co-PI), Russell,L., Can Corporate Work-Study Programs Increase Economic Mobility and Racial Equity? A Novel Examination of the Cristo Rey Network, Marion Ewing Kaufman Foundation (2025-2027, $500,000)聽
- Jabbari, J.F., Dougherty, S.M. (Co-PI), Russell,L., Increasing Opportunities for Social Mobility through Innovative High Schools: An Examination of the Cristo Rey Network, Smith Richardson Foundation (2025-2027, $350,000)
- Jabbari, J.F., Dougherty, S.M. (Co-PI), Russell,L., Leveraging Professional Skills to Increase Economic Mobility and Racial Equity, Urban Institute, Student Upward Mobility Initiative (2024-2026, $100,000)聽
- Dougherty, S.M. (PI), Making Technical Education Work, Smith Richardson Foundation (2023-2025, $150,000)聽
- Hughes, K., Dougherty, S.M. (Co-PI). Extending the Reach of the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Research Network鈥擱esearch Network Lead 2.0, Institute of Education Sciences (2023-2028, $3.75 million)聽
- Kreisman, D. (PI), Carruthers, C. (Co-PI), & Dougherty, S.M. (Co-PI), Theobald, R., Goldring, T. CTE Teacher Labor Markets, Attributes, and Student Outcomes, Institute of Education Sciences (2022-2026, $1.7 million)聽
- Kreisman, D. (PI), Dougherty, S.M. (Co-PI), Theobald, R. (Co-PI), Urban, C. (Co-PI), A Multistate Lab for Evidence-based Career and Technical Education Policy, Smith Richardson Foundation (January 2021-December 2023, $90,000 subcontract on $400,000 total award)聽
- Dougherty, S.M. (PI), Brunner, E. (Co-PI), Ross, S.L. (Co-PI), The Causal Impact of Attending a Career Technical High School on Student Achievement, High School Graduation and College Enrollment, Institute for Education Sciences Extension Grant, (2020-2025, $647,499)
Honors & Awards
- Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) 2025聽
- Outstanding Reviewer, Educational Evaluation & Policy Analysis 2017, 2020, 2023聽
- Outstanding Research Paper, Association for Career & Technical Education Research 2020聽
- Outstanding Policy/Paper Report Award, Education Policy Collaborative 2020聽
- Reviewer of the Year, Exceptional Children 2017聽
- Emerging Education Policy Scholar, Thomas B. Fordham Institute 2013-2014聽
- Early Career Scholar, Institute for Research on Poverty 2013-2014聽
- Taubman Center for State and Local Government Dissertation Fellow 2012