Policy Associate

WestEd Senior Policy Associate Reino Makkonen provides evidence-based analysis and technical assistance to policymakers and practitioners served by WestEd's Policy Center, Southwest Comprehensive Center, and Regional Educational Laboratory West. A member of WestEd since 2004, Makkonen analyzes current trends in education reform and highlights research developments benefiting children and families. Makkonen and his colleagues bring clarity to complex, emerging issues and present objective, research-based views to policymakers and other key leaders. His recent policy work in Utah has involved improving K–3 literacy and streamlining the monitoring of Title I services, and he has also helped provide more effective oversight of joint technological education districts in Arizona. Makkonen co-wrote and led the research for the Policy Trends report, Reforming Teacher Pay: The Search for a Workable Goal-Driven Compensation System. This report examines the growing interest in differentiated teacher compensation, identifying purposes for which it is used and explaining why, among these purposes, rewarding educators for improving student achievement remains the most challenging. Prior to joining WestEd, Makkonen wrote research articles for the Harvard Education Letter and Horace magazine, and developed early literacy and reading comprehension materials for Houghton Mifflin. He received a BA in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an EdM in education policy and management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.


Tel: 415.615.3356
415.615.3426
Email: rmakkon@wested.org

Mailing Address:
730 Harrison Street
San Francisco, California 94107-1242

Policy Briefs
Policymaker and Stakeholder Convenings
State and Regional Analyses
Resource Involvement:
An Analysis of Utah's K-3 Reading Improvement Program

Reforming Teacher Pay: The Search for a Workable Goal-Driven Compensation System