Frederick M. Hess is a resident scholar and director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. He is also executive editor of Education Next. He is best known for his work on a broad range of K-12 and higher education issues including accountability in education, charter schooling and school choice, the politics of education reform, collective bargaining, No Child Left Behind, teacher and administrative preparation, certification and licensing, school governance, college affordability, and the importance of entrepreneurship.

Dr. Hess’s books include No Remedy Left Behind (AEI Press 2007), Footing the Tuition Bill (AEI Press 2007), Educational Entrepreneurship (Harvard Education Press 2006), No Child Left Behind: A Primer (Peter Lang 2006), Tough Love for Schools (AEI Press 2006), With the Best of Intentions (Harvard Education Press 2005), Urban School Reform (Harvard Education Press 2005), Leaving No Child Behind? (Palgrave Macmillan 2004), Common Sense School Reform (Palgrave Macmillan 2004), A Qualified Teacher in Every Classroom? (Harvard Education Press 2004), Revolution at the Margins (Brookings Institution Press 2002), School Choice in the Real World (Westview 1999), Spinning Wheels (Brookings Institution Press 1999), and Bringing the Social Sciences Alive (Allyn & Bacon 1999). He has also authored influential monographs including “Tear Down This Wall: The Case for a Radical Overhaul of Teacher Certification” (Progressive Policy Institute 2001), “A License to Lead? A New Leadership Agenda for America’s Schools” (Progressive Policy Institute 2003), and “A Better Bargain: Overhauling Teacher Collective Bargaining for the 21st Century” (Harvard University 2006).

A former public high school social studies teacher in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Dr. Hess has held teaching licenses in Louisiana and Massachusetts. He holds an M.Ed. in Teaching and Curriculum and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Government from HarvardUniversity. Prior to joining AEI, Dr. Hess taught education and politics at the University of Virginia and served as a senior fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute.