education policy, educator diversity, teacher effectiveness, teaching, professional development, economics of education, causal inference

David Blazar is an Associate Professor at the 91大神 College Park in the Education Policy program, as well as the faculty director of the Maryland Equity Project. With training in the economics of education, Blazar's research examines the efficient, effective, and equitable allocation of educational resources, focusing in particular on resources related to teachers. His research portfolio examines: (1) characteristics of effective teachers (e.g., training, demographics) and effective teaching (e.g., classroom practice) that improve student outcomes; (2) whether and how varied instructional resources (e.g., professional development, curricula, evaluation) improve teacher practice and student outcomes; and (3) labor market policies and practices that successfully recruit and retain teachers in the profession.  His research has been published in Educational Researcher, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Review of Educational Research, among other publications. Blazar received the Excellence in Scholarship (Pre-Tenure) award from the 91大神 College of Education, and the Jean Flanigan Outstanding Dissertation Award from the Association for Education Finance and Policy. He received his doctorate and master's degrees from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and his bachelor's degree in history and literature from Harvard College. Prior to graduate school, he taught high-school English Language Arts in New York City.

  • Outstanding Reviewer:
    • Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness (2025)
    • AERA Open (2019, 2020, 2021)
    • American Educational Research Journal (2022)
    • Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis (2019, 2024)
    • Educational Researcher (2017, 2021, 2024)
  • Excellence in Scholarship, Pre-Tenure Faculty, College of Education, 91大神 (2021)
  • Jean Flanigan Dissertation Award, Association for Education Finance and Policy (2017)
  • Emerging Education Policy Scholar, Thomas B. Fordham Institute (2015)

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

  • Blazar, D., Song, D., Goings, R., Plasman, J., & Gottfried, M. (Online 2025). Pathways into the CTE teaching profession: A descriptive analysis of degrees, licenses, and race in Maryland. AERA Open.

  • Blazar, D., Adnot, M., Anthenelli, M. & Zhong, X. (Online 2024). Differential responses to teacher evaluation incentives: Expectancy, race, experience, and task. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis.

  • Blazar, D. (2024). Why Black teachers matter. Educational Researcher, 53(8), 450-463.

  • Blazar, D., McNamara, D., & Blue, G. (2024). Instructional coaching personnel and program scalability. Education Finance and Policy, 19(3), 492-523.

  • Blazar, D., & Schueler, B. (Online 2023). Effective school district policies and practices: Synthesizing theoretical frameworks and empirical findings across disciplines. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness. 

  • Blazar, D., & Pollard, C. (2023). Challenges and tradeoffs of 鈥済ood鈥 teaching: The pursuit of multiple educational outcomes. Journal of Teacher Education, 74(3) 229-244.  

  • Gottfried, M., Plasman, J., & Blazar, D. (2022). Exclusive versus mixed, general versus CTE: Building a new taxonomy of STEMM high school teachers. Journal of Education Human Resources.

  • Blazar, D. & Archer, C. (2020). Teaching to support students with diverse academic needs. Educational Researcher, 49(5), 297-311.
  • Blazar, D., Heller, B., Kane, T. J., Polikoff, M., & Staiger, D. O, with Carrell, S., Goldhaber, D., Harris, D., Hitch, R., Holden, K. L., & Kurlaender, M. (2020). Curriculum reform and the Common Core: Evaluating elementary math textbooks across six U.S. states. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 39(4), 966-1019.
  • Blazar, D, & Archer, C. (2020). Teaching to support students with diverse academic needs. Educational Researcher, 49(5), 297-311.
  • Kane, T. J., Blazar, D., Gehlbach, H., Greenberg, M., Quinn, D., & Thal, D. (Online 2019). Substituting teacher-collected video for formal classroom observations: An experimental evaluation. Education Finance and Policy.
  • Blazar, D., & Kraft, M. A. (2019). Balancing rigor, replication, and relevance: A case for multiple-cohort, longitudinal experiments. AERA Open, 5(3). 1-18. 

  • Blazar, D. (2018). Validating teacher effects on students鈥 attitudes and behaviors: Evidence from random assignment of teachers to students. Education Finance and Policy, 13(3), 281-309. 

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  • Blazar, D., Gilbert, B., Herlihy, C., Gogolen, C. (2018). Exploring the potential for video-based classroom observations. International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology, 6(2), 122-135.

  • Kraft, M. A., Blazar, D., & Hogan, D. (2018). The effect of teacher coaching on instruction and achievement: A meta-analysis of the causal evidence. Review of Educational Research. 

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    ** in Review of Educational Research, and second most-read in all AERA journals in 2018

  • Blazar, D. & Pollard, C. (2017). Does test preparation mean low-quality instruction? Educational Researcher, 46(8), 420-433. 

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  • Blazar, D., Braslow, D., Charalambous, C. Y., & Hill, H. C. (2017). Attending to general and mathematics-specific dimensions of teaching: Exploring factors across two observation instruments. Educational Assessment, 22(2), 71-94.  

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  • Blazar, D. & Kraft, M. A. (2017). Teacher and teaching effects on students鈥 attitudes and behaviors. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 39(1), 146-170. 

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  • Kraft, M. A., & Blazar, D. (2017). Improving teachers鈥 practice across grades and subjects: Experimental evidence on individualized teacher coaching. Educational Policy, 31(7), 1033 - 1068. 

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  • Lynch, K., Chin, M., & Blazar, D. (2017). Relationship between observations of elementary teacher mathematics instruction and student achievement: Exploring variability across districts. American Journal of Education, 123(4), 615-646. 

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  • Blazar, D., Litke, E., & Barmore, J. (2016). What does it mean to be ranked a 鈥渉igh鈥 or 鈥渓ow鈥 value-added teacher? Observing differences in instructional quality across districts. American Educational Research Journal, 53(2), 324-359. 

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  • Blazar, D. (2015). Effective teaching in elementary mathematics: Identifying classroom practices that support student achievement. Economics of Education Review, 48, 16-29.  

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  • Blazar, D. (2015). Grade assignments and the teacher pipeline: A low-cost lever to improve student achievement? Educational Researcher, 44(4), 213-227.  

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  • Blazar, D., & Kraft, M. A. (2015). Exploring mechanisms of effective teacher coaching: A tale of two cohorts from a randomized experiment. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 37(4), 542-566. 

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  • Hill, H. C., Blazar, D., & Lynch, K. (2015). Resources for teaching: Examining personal and institutional predictors of high-quality instruction. AERA Open, 1(4), 1-23. 

  • Hill, H. C., Charalambous, C. Y., Blazar, D., McGinn, D., Beisiegel, M., Humez, A., Kraft, M., Litke, E., & Lynch, K. (2012). Validating arguments for observational instruments: Attending to multiple sources of variation. Educational Assessment, 17(2-3), 88-106.  

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  • Blazar, D. (2011). Using theatre to engage cultural identity: Implications for students and teachers. English Education, 43(3), 294-304.
  • Blazar, D. (2009). Self-discovery through character connections: Opening up to gayness in Angels in America. English Journal, 98(4), 77-84.

Other Articles

  • Kraft, M., & Blazar, D. (2018). Taking teacher coaching to scale: Can personalized training become standard practice? Education Next, 18(4). 
  • Blazar, D. (2017). Should noncognitive measures be used for teacher accountability? Brookings Brown Center Chalkboard.
  • Blazar, D., & Kraft, M. A. (2016). Social and emotional skills in school: Pivoting from accountability to development. Albert Shanker Institute Blog. 

Funding from Federal Agencies and Foundations

  • Co-Principal Investigator (2022-2026). 鈥淪ustaining literacy practices over time: Codifying knowledge through micro-credentialing,鈥 Institute of Education Sciences #R305A210031 with Principal Investigator Suzanne Donovan.
  • Principal Investigator (2021-24). 鈥淓xamining recruitment programs and pathways to diversify the teacher workforce,鈥 Institute of Education Sciences #R305A210031 with Co-Principal Investigators Ramon Goings and Seth Gershenson.
  • Co-Principal Investigator (2021-23). 鈥淓ducation and experience: Do teacher qualifications in career-focused STEM courses make a difference?鈥, National Science Foundation #2101163 with Principal Investigator Michael Gottfried and Co-Principal Investigator Jay Plasman.
  • External Evaluator (2021-23). 鈥淯MB CURE Connections: an integral link in a Baltimore minority STEM education pipeline,鈥 National Institutes of Health #5R25GM129875-03 with Principal Investigator Elizabeth Parker.
  • Principal Investigator (2019-24). 鈥淒isparities in investments in children and youth in the United States,鈥 Spencer Foundation with Co-Principal Investigators Michel Boudreaux, Claudia Galindo, Steven Klees, Jennifer Rice, and Marvin Titus.
  • Principal Investigator (2019-21). "Long-term effect of teachers on students鈥 academic and non-academic skill formation: Evidence from longitudinal education and workforce data in Maryland,鈥 American Educational Research Association.
  • Co-Principal Investigator (2019-21). 鈥淪ERP-DCPS partnership to promote early literacy success,鈥 Institute of Education Sciences with Principal Investigator Suzanne Donovan.
  • Co-Principal Investigator (2018-20). "Maryland Longitudinal Data Systems Center: Research branch,鈥 State of Maryland, with Principal Investigator Tracy Sweet and Co-Principal Investigator Nolan Pope.
  • Co-Principal Investigator (2016-18). "Never Judge a Book by its Cover,鈥 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and William and Flora Hewlett Foundation #2016-5038, with Principal Investigator Thomas Kane and Co-Principal investigator Morgan Polikoff.
  • Principal Investigator (2016-18). "Validating Teacher Effects on Non-Tested Outcomes,鈥 Smith Richardson Foundation #2015-1018.

Internal University Grants

  • Principal Investigator (2020). 鈥淭he relationship between racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity and long-term economic opportunity,鈥 91大神, Faculty-Student Research Award program.
  • Principal Investigator (2019-21). 鈥淩esearch Development Grant: Expanding the Capacity of Statewide STEM Workforce Development Data,鈥 91大神, Office of the Vice President for Research.
  • Principal Investigator (2018). 鈥淒o Coaches Differ in their Effectiveness? Opportunities and Challenges for Scaling up Teacher Coaching Programs,鈥 91大神 Support Program for Advancing Research and Collaboration.
  • TLPL 670: Economics of Education
  • TLPL 766: Impact Evaluation for Education and Public Policy
  • TLPL 788D: Data Management for Social Science Research
  • TLPL 788I: Research Apprenticeship in the Maryland Longitudinal Data System
  • TLPL 788Z: Education Policy Research, Writing, and Presentation Seminar