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Gary W. Ritter, Ph.D.

Dean; Professor

Education

Ph.D., Education Policy and Leadership, University of Pennsylvania
M.A., Public Policy and Management, University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School
M.A., Social Policy, University of Manchester, Manchester, England
B.A., Finance, John Carroll University

Practice Areas

  • Program Evaluation
  • Issues in Education Policy
  • Research Methods in Education

Research Interests

  • Access to Postsecondary Education for Low-Income Students
  • Teacher Quality, Teacher Pay, and Teacher Training
  • School Discipline Practices and Disparities
  • Impacts of Public Charter Schools

Publications and Media Placements

Selected Publications – Journal Articles

Swanson, E., Kopotic, K., Zamarro, G., Mills, J. N., Greene, J. P., & Ritter, G. W. (2021). An Evaluation of the Educational Impact of College Campus Visits: A Randomized Experiment. AERA Open, 7(1), 1–18.

Ash, J., Swanson, E., & Ritter, G. (2021). A Promise Kept? The Impact of the El Dorado Promise Scholarship on Student Achievement. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 43(1), 83–107.

Anderson, K. P., & Ritter, G. W. (2020). Do School Discipline Policies Treat Students Fairly? Evidence From Arkansas. Educational Policy, 34(5), 707–734. 

Anderson, K. P., Ritter, G. W., & Zamarro, G. (2019). Understanding a Vicious Cycle: Do Out-of-School Suspensions Impact Student Test Scores? Educational Researcher, 48(5), 251-262.

Ritter, G. W. (2018). Reviewing the Progress of School Discipline Reform. Peabody Journal of Education, 93(2), 133-138.

Ritter, G.W., Jensen, N.C., Kisida, B., & Bowen, D.H. (2016). Urban School Choice and Integration: The Effect of Charter Schools in Little Rock.  Education and Urban Society, 48(6), 535-555.

Ritter, G. W. & Barnett, J. H.  (2016). Learning on the Job: Teacher Evaluation Can Foster Real Growth. Phi Delta Kappan, 97(7), 48-52.

Ritter, G. W. & Ash, J. (2016). How the “Promise” of a College Scholarship Transformed the Culture in El Dorado Schools. Phi Delta Kappan, 97(5), 13-19.

Selected Publications – Books and Book Chapters

Ritter, G. W. & Swanson, E.  (2020). The Effect of the El Dorado Promise Scholarship on Higher Education, K-12, and Community Outcomes. Improving Research-Based Knowledge of College Promise Programs (L. Perna and E. Smith, Eds.). Washington DC: American Educational Research Association. 

Ritter, Gary W. & McKenzie, Sarah C.  (2020).  Making Progress: Education Reform in Arkansas, in K. Huffman, J. Parry, and C. Reese (Ed.) Readings in Arkansas Politics & Government. (2nd Edition). University of Arkansas Press.

Ritter, G. W., & Barnett, J.H.  (2013).  A Straightforward Guide to Teacher Merit Pay: Encouraging and Rewarding Schoolwide Improvement. Corwin Press: Thousand Oaks, CA.

Ritter, G. W., Jensen, N.C., Kisida, B., & McGee, J.  (2012). The Charges of Racial Segregation in Charter Schools are Overstated.  In Margaret Haerens and Lynn Zott (Eds.), Charter Schools: Opposing Viewpoints.   (pp. 186-196).  Detroit, MI: Greenhaven Press.