Ronald Ferguson

Senior Lecturer in Education and Public Policy, GSE
HKS Collateral Appointment (GSE)
Office Address
Taubman-474
Mailing Address
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Mailbox 103
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Contact
Phone: 617-495-1104
Fax: 617-496-9053
Email: ronald_ferguson@Harvard.Edu
Ronald Ferguson

Profile

Ronald F. Ferguson, Senior Lecturer in Education and Public Policy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, is also an economist and Senior Research Associate at the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy.  He has taught at Harvard since 1983, focusing on education and economic development. His research and writing for the past decade have focused on racial achievement gaps, appearing in a variety of publications.  His most recent book is Toward Excellence with Equity: An emerging vision for closing the achievement gap, published by Harvard Education Press.  He is the creator of the Tripod Project for School Improvement and also the faculty co-chair and director of the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard University.  Ferguson earned an undergraduate degree from Cornell University and PhD from MIT, both in economics.  He is the father of two and very happily married to Helen Mont-Ferguson.

 

Courses

Spring

  • HLE-270 Youth Development and The Achievement Gap

Research

For a complete list of faculty citations from 2001 - present, please visit the Harvard Kennedy School Research Report Online.

Selected Publication Citations:

  • Book Chapters
    • Ferguson, Ronald. "Helping Students of Color Meet High Standards." Everyday Anti-Racism: Getting Real About Race in School. Ed. Mica Pollock. Harvard Education Press, 2008, 78-81.
    • Ferguson, Ronald. "What We've Learned about 'Stalled Progress' in Closing the Black-White Achievement Gap." Steady Gains and Stalled Progress: Inequality and the Black-White Test Score Gap. Ed. Katherine Magnuson and Jane Waldfogel. Russell Sage, 2008, 320-344.
  • Research Papers/Reports
    • Ferguson, Ronald. "Within-School Variation in the Quality of Instruction Across Course Levels and Racial Groups." Paper for Annual Conference of the American Economics Association, New Orleans, January 4, 2008.
    • Ferguson, Ronald. "Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps in Whole School Systems: Recent Advances in Research and Practice." Report on the Annual Conference of the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard University, December 2008.