Jason LaTurner
Research Associate

Jason LaTurner is a Research Associate with SEDL's Research and Evaluation (R&E) program. Dr. LaTurner’s work focuses on evaluation capacity building for state education agencies. Through SEDL’s Southeast Comprehensive Center and Texas Comprehensive Center, he consults with state education department staff on developing evaluation plans and employing appropriate quantitative and qualitative research methods to study the effectiveness of a range of district and school improvement programs. This work includes using state and national longitudinal data systems and assisting staff in creating data collection tools, analyzing evaluation results, and developing presentations and workshops for state and district audiences. Other work includes providing training for school districts and others in the use of SEDL’s Concerns-Based Adoption Model, focusing specifically on developing Innovation Configurations and helping systems use the Stages of Concern Questionnaire to guide decisions about implementation of new initiatives.

Contact Information
You may contact Jason LaTurner at 512-391-6570

or by using SEDL's contact form.

Areas of Expertise
Dr. LaTurner’s expertise as an evaluation researcher and project manager includes more than 10 years of experience in scoping, assessing, and managing programs in educational and nonprofit settings. This experience ranges from preK to post-baccalaureate levels and includes designing and implementing both large- and small-scale evaluation studies. He has in-depth training and experience in quantitative and qualitative methodologies with considerable experience evaluating STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) programs and teacher training and certification programs.

Experience
Prior to joining SEDL in November 2011, Dr. LaTurner was a research scientist in the Austin, Texas, office of the University of Texas at Dallas–Education Research Center (ERC), where he conducted research on statewide educational initiatives. In this role, he utilized the longitudinal Texas accountability data housed at the ERC to examine a variety of research questions. Previously, he worked for Austin Independent School District designing and executing process and outcome tracking systems for grant-funded programs, including initiatives funded by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) and the Austin Community Collaboration to Enhance Student Success (ACCESS). Dr. LaTurner also spent several years as a researcher in the College of Natural Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin directing multi-method evaluations of the UTeach math and science teacher preparation program.

Education
Dr. LaTurner holds a BA in sociology from Purdue University, an MA in higher education and student affairs from Bowling Green State, and a PhD in sociology with a focus on education and statistics from the University of Texas at Austin.

SEDL Publications

• Improving Family and Community Engagement Through Sharing Data: Southeast Comprehensive Center Briefing Paper, November 2012 (2012)
• Rapid Response: Professional Development Connected to Student Achievement in STEM Education (2012)
• Secondary Content-Area Literacy: Time for Crisis or Opportunity for Reform?: Texas Comprehensive Center Briefing Paper, Number 12 (2012)
• Teacher Preparation Programs: Research and Promising Practices: Texas Comprehensive Center Briefing Paper, Number 11 (2012)

Selected External Publications

• University of Texas at Dallas–Education Research Center, Gibson Consulting Group, Inc., Learning Point Associates (an affiliate of American Institutes for Research), & ICF International. (2011). Rider 42 report professional development research study. Report prepared for the Texas Education Agency. Available at www.tea.state.tx.us
• Samii-Shore, K., & LaTurner, R. J. (2010). Region XIII Transition to Teaching project: Interim report, October 2007 to April 2010. Austin, TX: Shore Research, Inc.
• LaTurner, R. J., Basu, S., & Samii-Shore, K. (2009). Program summary and second-year outcomes for the ACCESS Initiative, 2008–2009 (DPE Publication 08.71). Austin, TX: Austin Independent School District.
• Basu, S., & LaTurner, R. J. (2008). Positive behavior support evaluation, 2007–2008 (DPE Publication 07.81). Austin, TX: Austin Independent School District.
• LaTurner, R. J. (2007). Development of facilitator survey for the Happy Kitchen/La Cocina Alegre™. Austin, TX: Shore Research, Inc.
• LaTurner, R. J. (2007). No kidding straight talk from teen parents: Program reach for Austin site. Austin, TX: Shore Research, Inc.
• LaTurner, R. J. (2002). Teachers’ academic preparation and commitment to teach math and science. Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies, 18, 653–663.
• Smithey, L., Nybroten, K. A., & LaTurner, R. J. (1999). Teaching graduate-level evaluation sociology through a departmental evaluation. The American Sociologist, 30, 64–71.

Selected Presentations

• Arellano, B., LaTurner, R. J., & Shaw, S. (2013, March). Demystifying the Measurement of Teacher Quality. Presented at SXSWedu Conference and Festival, Austin, TX
• Basu, S., LaTurner, R. J., & Christian, C. (2009, March). Conducting a comprehensive three-tier PBS evaluation in a diverse, urban district. 2009 Annual Meeting of the Association for Positive Behavior Support, Jacksonville, FL.
• LaTurner, R. J. (2004, April). Mining large NCES and NSF data sets for policy implications: The AERA grants program. 2004 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA.
• LaTurner, R. J. (2003, April). The influence of career values and the collegiate experience in the choice to teach: A focus on math and science. Invited presentation at the 2003 AERA-NCES Grants Program Awardees Conference, Washington, DC.