Steve Schneider is the Senior Program Director of the Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics program at WestEd. He also serves as the Principal Investigator (PI) of the $12.2 million National Science Foundation's (NSF) Center for Assessment and Evaluation of Student Learning (CAESL).

CAESL is designed to improve student learning and understanding in science through focusing on effective assessment. WestEd is responsible for overall management of CAESL and leads the professional development for practicing teachers.

As a result of the CAESL project, vast numbers of teachers and graduate students have received training and/or advanced degrees in the use of formative classroom assessment and measurement.

Schneider directs the National Center on Cognition and Mathematics Instruction, which is redesigning an existing mathematics curriculum in ways that will substantially improve student outcomes. This five-year project is funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences.

Schneider also serves as the Principal Investigator and Content Expert for the Science Review Team at the U.S. Department of Education's national What Works Clearinghouse.

In addition, Schneider directs the California K-12 Mathematics Implementation Study and the National Assessment Governing Board's 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) science framework development project. In 2009, students nationwide engaged in the NAEP science assessment.

Schneider also directs the 2012 National Assessment of Educational Progress Technological Literacy framework project and serves as Principal Investigator of three efficacy studies of educational interventions.

He is the lead evaluator of numerous large-scale evaluation efforts for NSF and the U.S. Department of Education (ED). He has served as the evaluation chairperson for the National Network of Eisenhower Mathematics and Science Consortia and Clearinghouse, and represented the Network on the ED's Mathematics and Science Expert Panels.

Previously, Schneider served as the Co-PI/Project Director for the development of the AYA (adolescent young adult) science teacher assessment for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Thousands of teachers nationwide have engaged in this assessment, with many gaining National Board certification.

Schneider has over 35 years of science, mathematics, and technology education experience, including K–12 pre-service teacher education at Stanford University and the University of California, Santa Cruz; high school science teaching in biology, physics, and oceanography; and planning and conducting teacher and administrator professional development.

He has published numerous articles on science, mathematics, and technology education, professional development, and teacher preparation.

In 2006, Schneider and his fellow NAEP Framework Team members received WestEd's Paul D. Hood Award for Distinguished Contribution to the Profession for their work developing the science assessment framework for "the Nation’s Report Card." In 2004, Schneider received this WestEd award for his creation of collaborative partnerships that have advanced math and science education in the nation including curricula, professional development, assessment, and evaluation.

Schneider received a BA in biology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a PhD in the design and evaluation of educational programs with an emphasis in science, mathematics, and technology education from Stanford University. He has a State of California Life Teaching Credential from California State University, San Jose.