Laura Hamilton conducts work on education policy, assessment, youth development, and civic learning, with a focus on producing evidence-based guidance for practitioners and policymakers to ensure that all young people are prepared to succeed and thrive. She has led several large, mixed-method research and evaluation projects and has received research funding from federal and state agencies, philanthropic foundations, and other nonprofit entities.
Before joining the Center for Assessment, Hamilton served as a senior director at American Institutes for Research, where she led the Center on Advancing Measurement and Assessment and contributed to research and technical assistance in education and workforce development. She has also served as associate vice president of the Research Centers in the Research and Measurement Sciences area at ETS, distinguished chair in learning and assessment at RAND, and co-director of RAND’s nationally representative educator survey panels.
Hamilton has served on numerous expert committees and panels, including the Joint Committee to develop the AERA/APA/NCME Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (both the 2014 version and the forthcoming version), a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee on developing indicators of educational equity, a National Academies committee to evaluate the NAEP achievement levels, and technical advisory committees for several state assessment programs. She’s also held editorial roles with multiple academic journals and is co-editing a volume on assessing civic learning opportunities and outcomes.
Hamilton is a fellow of the American Educational Research Association and received the Joseph A. Zins Distinguished Scholar Award for her work on whole-child development. Hamilton received a Ph.D. in educational psychology and an M.S. in statistics from Stanford University.
Recent & relevant publications
Hamilton, L.S., Rikoon, S.H., & Kidd, D. (Eds., forthcoming) Assessment to promote K-12 civic learning and engagement. Volume to be published as part of the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) book series. Routledge.
Castellano, K.E., McCaffrey; D.M., Xi, N., Yue, J., & Hamilton, L.S. (2025). Exploring differential change in student performance during the COVID-19 pandemic across the United States. Large-scale Assessments in Education, 13(11).
Buckley, K., Smerdon, B., & Hamilton, L.S. (2025, January 29). The missing indicator in opportunity to learn frameworks: Student voice. Teach for America Blog.
Hamilton, L.S., Olivera-Aguilar, M., & Rikoon, S.H. (2024). How SEL Can Support Civic Learning and Engagement. In Durlak, J., Domitrovich, C., & Mahoney, J. (Eds.), Handbook of social and emotional learning theory, research, and practice: The evolution of a field, 2nd edition (pp.260-272). Guilford.
Hamilton, L.S., & Martinez, J.F. (2024). Policy influences on ambitious classroom instruction, assessment, and learning. In Marion, S.F., Pellegrino, J.W., & Berman, A.I. (Eds.) Implementation and use of balanced assessment systems (pp. 274-308). National Academy of Education.
Middlebrook, K., Hamilton, L.S., & Walker, M.E. (2024). How research and testing companies can support early-career measurement professionals. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice.
Hamilton, L.S. (2024, November 1). Teachers in All Subjects Must Help Prepare the Next Generation of Voters. The 74.
Hamilton, L.S., & Middlebrook, K. (2024, January 23). Harnessing the power of artificial intelligence for learner-centered assessment. The 74.
Gross, B., & Hamilton, L.S. (2023). Student mental health and well-being: A review of evidence and emerging solutions. Center on Reinventing Public Education.
Hamilton, L.S., & Kaufman, J.H. (2022). Indicators of equitable civic learning in U.S. public schools. Educational Assessment, 27, 187-196
Hamilton, L.S. (2022). Cross-cutting methodological considerations for measuring and assessing noncognitive skills. In S.M. Jones, N.K. Lesaux, & S.P. Barnes (Eds.), Measuring noncognitive skills in school settings: Assessments of executive function and social-emotional competencies (pp.285-303). Guilford.
Hamilton, L.S., & Parsi, A. (2022). Monitoring civic learning opportunities and outcomes: Lessons from a symposium sponsored by ETS and Educating for American Democracy. ETS.
