Matthew Ronfeldt

Matt Ronfeldt seeks to understand how to improve teaching quality, particularly in schools and districts that serve minoritized and marginalized students. His research sits at the intersection of educational practice and policy and focuses on teacher preparation, induction, and professional development (including mentoring), the recruitment and retention of teachers and especially teachers of color, and the assessment of teachers and preparation programs. Ronfeldt utilizes and promotes mixed methodologies including a wide range of quantitative and qualitative approaches, including experimental, survey, causal inference, case study, regression, grounded theory, and action research. 

For more than a decade, Ronfeldt has been a national leader in developing and utilizing large-scale quantitative methodologies, including innovative field experiments, in the study and improvement of teacher education. In particular, since 2013 Ronfeldt has helped to build and sustain a research practice partnership with the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) using statewide data systems to examine and improve teacher preparation across the state. Ronfeldt was a middle school mathematics and science teacher for seven years, mostly in Oakland, California. He completed his doctoral degree and IES postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University.