John Rice

Overview

John Rice is an expert in program evaluation and applied research with over 20 years of experience connecting education research, policy, and practice. As a Senior Research Director with the Research-Practice Partnerships team, he brings together practitioners, researchers, content experts, and policy leaders to build the capacity of educational partners to develop and use high-quality data and research evidence to address real-world education problems and improve student educational outcomes.  

He previously served as the Director of the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) West, where he oversaw training, coaching, technical assistance, and applied research conducted in partnership with state, regional, and local education agencies and with institutes of higher education across Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah. Under his leadership, REL West conducted applied research and developed numerous tools and other products to help practitioners and policymakers apply education research in their specific contexts. Also, at WestEd has directed large-scale evaluations of school turnaround efforts and early childhood educator professional learning programs.   

Before joining WestEd, Rice was an Associate Research Scientist at the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance in the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education, where he managed evaluations of federal education programs. In this role, he helped determine whether federal education funds were having their intended impacts of improving student learning and achievement.

Education

• PhD in developmental psychology, University of California, Irvine  
• MA in experimental psychology, Central Washington University  
• BA in cognitive sciences, University of California, Irvine  

Select Publications

Doutre, S. M., Barrett, T., & Rice, J. (2021). California’s Special Education Local Plan Areas: Funding patterns, inclusion rates, and student outcomes (REL 2021–134). U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory West.  

Rice, J., Huang, M., & Derby, K. (2018). Characteristics of rural and non-rural districts in Utah from 2012 to 2017. REL West at WestEd. 

Nakamoto, J., Wendt, S. J., Rice, J. A., Borjorquez, J., & Petrosino, A. (2017). An evaluation of school improvement grants using regression discontinuity and quasi-experimental designs. SAGE research methods cases. SAGE.  

Rice, J., Lash, A., Huang, M., Tran, L., & Peterson, M. (2015). Advanced course completion in magnet and comprehensive high schools: A study in Nevada’s Clark County School District (REL 2016–099). U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory West.