Joel Knudson

Principal Researcher

Joel Knudson is a principal researcher at AIR, where has contributed to educational research and evaluation projects since joining the organization in 2003. His primary research interests include school leadership, secondary education and district reform.

Knudson has extensive experience with both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis, and has directed the development, administration and analysis of principal, teacher and student surveys. He currently serves as the deputy project director for the California Collaborative on District Reform and works as an analyst on the national evaluation of the Early College High School Initiative.

Expertise
Education
District and School Improvement

M.A., Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies (POLS), Stanford University School of Education; B.A., Political Science, Stanford University

Contact Joel Knudson

+1.650.376.6300
Related Work
Students in classroom with iPad

California Computer Science Education Policy: Contributing Factors to Success and Opportunities for Further Progress

30 Sep 2021
If states are to foster an environment in which all students have opportunities to thrive in computer science (CS), policy action will help create the conditions for success. Interviews with 20 individuals involved in the CS education policy process help to illuminate several factors that have facilitated California’s recent policy ...

Grading Policy in the Time of COVID-19: Considerations and Implications for Equity

30 Apr 2020
Knowing that the current context is dramatically different than previous school years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that students’ access to learning from home varies, how should schools grade student performance? This brief from the California Collaborative on District Reform explores some of the policy options California districts and ...
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A Learning Community for School District Leaders Promotes Evidence-Based Decision-Making

05 Feb 2020
The California Collaborative on District Reform was designed to improve educational opportunities for all students, with particular emphasis on those who have been historically underserved. Joel Knudson, a senior researcher at AIR and the Collaborative’s deputy project director, answered questions about the Collaborative and its work. ...

Pursuing Equity and Excellence in Mathematics: Course Sequencing and Placement in San Francisco

03 Apr 2019
In 2014, the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) moved away from a state-supported policy that placed all Grade 8 students in Algebra I due concerns about poor student outcomes and growing achievement gaps. A new policy and practice brief from the California Collaborative on District Reform, an initiative of ...

From Combat to Collaboration: The Labor-Management Partnership in San José Unified School District

19 Dec 2017
Amidst numerous issues plaguing the San José Unified School District, the San José superintendent and the San José Teachers Association president came together to find common ground and chart a new path. This report shares the lessons learned over 24 years of collaboration between the district and the union, and ...

Fostering Innovation: How User-Centered Design Can Help Us Get the Local Control Funding Formula Right

28 Jul 2017
The Local Control Funding Formula has introduced positive and much-needed change to California’s approach to K-12 education funding, but received criticism for being archaic, cumbersome, difficult to complete, opaque, and incoherent. A new brief from the California Collaborative on District Reform and Pivot Learning, Fostering Innovation: How User-Centered Design Can ...

Implementing LCFF: Communicating About District Plans

12 Jul 2016
As they continue to implement the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), California educators find themselves struggling to communicate district plans to parents, teachers, and other members of the school community. This brief, the fourth in a series from the California Collaborative exploring key issues of LCFF implementation, identifies some guidelines ...

Implementing LCFF: Possible Solutions to Emergent LCAP Challenges

25 Jan 2016
The Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) is a central component of California’s Local Control Funding Formula, which requires districts to describe their goals, their strategies to achieve these goals, and the resources allocated to support these strategies. This brief outlines the key challenges undercutting the LCAP’s effectiveness and offers short ...

None of Us Are as Good as All of Us: Early Lessons From the CORE Districts

17 Aug 2015
District leaders are increasingly recognizing the value of working with their peers in other districts to tackle their most pressing challenges. Without careful attention to the factors that help cross-district learning occur, however, education leaders looking to achieve systemwide change may fail to capitalize on the potential of working together ...

Still Learning from the Past: Drawing on California’s CLAS Experience to Inform Assessment of the Common Core (2015)

17 Mar 2015
As California approaches a new system of academic standards, instruction, and assessment, it enters familiar territory. The use of multiple modes of assessment, tight alignment between assessments and expectations for student learning, and a focus on assessment for formative (as well as summative) purposes—all with an emphasis on students’ understanding ...
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Long Story Short: Why Should School Districts Collaborate?

09 Dec 2014
School districts play a pivotal role in creating the conditions for learning and many are going through a time of intense change. Joel Knudson, an AIR senior researcher, explains how collaboration can help school districts face shared challenges and partner together to continuously improve.

Building Leadership Capacity in California’s Public Education Systems: Lessons From the SCALE Initiative

01 Dec 2014
Educators and other stakeholders in the education field recognize the power of school systems to create the conditions for student success in our public schools; however, these approaches rarely focus on the capacity of system leaders themselves. The Stuart Foundation California Leaders in Education (SCALE) Initiative is an effort to ...

LCFF Implementation: Building Capacity to Realize the Promises of California’s New Funding System

20 Nov 2014
California’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) has introduced changes that alter the conditions under which educators, administrators, and community leaders approach their roles in the K-12 education system. Consequently, leaders at all levels may need to build the capacity—both the knowledge and skills and the resources—that they need to fulfill ...

Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) Implementation: Early Lessons From the Field

31 Jul 2014
The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) represents a fundamental transformation of the way California allocates state funds to school districts and the ways the state expects districts to make decisions about (and report on) the use of these funds. This brief identifies some early lessons about how best to use ...

Common Core Implementation: Units of Study in Sacramento City

10 Mar 2014
As district leaders search for the best ways to improve student learning with the Common Core State Standards, some early implementers are giving us an opportunity to learn from their experience.This brief describes Sacramento City Unified School District’s approach to developing units of study that guide teachers’ classroom practice. The ...

You'll Never Be Better Than Your Teachers: The Garden Grove Approach to Human Capital Development

01 Sep 2013
Teachers matter. Educators, policymakers and the general public alike agree that great teachers are vital to a thriving K-12 education system, yet the pathways to assembling a high quality teaching force remain elusive. This case study of Garden Grove Unified School District, winner of the 2004 Broad Prize for Urban ...

Learning from the Past: Drawing on California’s CLAS Experience to Inform Assessment of the Common Core (2012)

20 Sep 2012
The Common Core State Standards represent an exciting step forward for California and for the nation as a whole in supporting strong instruction that can better prepare students for college and career success. As educators embrace the challenges associated with assessment of the Common Core, it is instructive to learn ...

Beyond the School: Exploring a Systemic Approach to School Turnaround

04 Feb 2011
This brief uses the experience of eight California school districts—all members of the California Collaborative on District Reform—to suggest a more systemic approach to school turnaround.

California Collaborative on District Reform

The California Collaborative on District Reform, an initiative of AIR, joins researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and funders in ongoing, evidence-based dialogue to improve instruction and student learning for all students in California’s urban school systems. In particular, the group recognizes the key role that districts play in supporting educational improvement. ...

Six Years and Counting: The ECHSI Matures (2009)

01 Aug 2009
This is the fifth annual synthesis report for the Early College High School Initiative. A brief overview shows that although the ECHSI continued to grow in terms of the number of schools participating, the growth was slower than in prior years. It also is clear that fewer ECSs are opening ...

AIR in the News

EdSource

Community Schools Can Reinvigorate Learning After Covid — If Done Right

EdSource

Creating a 'Test Kitchen' to Come Up with a Better School Accountability Plan in California