Ryan Williams

Ryan Williams is a principal researcher at AIR with expertise in causal inference methods and meta-analysis. Dr. Williams is the principal investigator on an Institute for Education Sciences (IES) meta-analysis that explores sources of heterogeneity in mathematics intervention effects. He is also a co-principal investigator of an IES methods training institute for advanced meta-analysis.

He often leads key analytical tasks for large-scale program evaluations, including: initial study design and power analysis, instrument development, complex sampling, psychometric analysis, and evaluating program impacts under experimental and quasi-experimental designs. He currently serves as the project director for AIR’s evaluation of Iowa’s Teacher Leadership and Compensation program, a three-year statewide evaluation of the program’s impacts on students and teachers, and a study of implementation progress.

Dr. Williams has extensive training in quantitative methods focusing on contemporary measurement theory, meta-analysis, and experimental and quasi-experimental designs. He previously worked as an assistant professor of quantitative methods at the University of Memphis, where he taught courses on statistics, measurement, and meta-analysis. His recent publications include articles in Educational Researcher, Research Synthesis Methods, and Educational and Psychological Measurement.