NAME

Rebecca McGill-Wilkinson

ROLE

Principal Researcher

BIO

Rebecca McGill-Wilkinson has over 15 years of experience in education research and evaluation. She is passionate about supporting data-informed decision-making in schools. Rebecca began her career at the Institute of Education Sciences, overseeing grantmaking activities related to K-12 literacy and research use in education. From there, she worked in the Office of Research at the Baltimore County Public Schools, designing and administering system-wide surveys and program evaluations to help answer the district’s most pressing questions. Most recently, she was a Senior Associate at Abt Global where she conducted impact and implementation evaluations of educational programs and federal education policies. She is WWC certified in group design and single case design.

Throughout all of her work, Rebecca strives to understand and prioritize schools’ and educators’ needs and priorities. While she is well-versed in traditional research and evaluation frameworks, she also believes in creatively adjusting evaluation activities to fit the realities of schools and districts.

Rebecca holds a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Temple University and a B.A. in psychology from Vassar College.

WHY I GRAVITATE TOWARD THIS WORK…

My interest in education stems from my belief that the public education system in our country doesn’t provide access and opportunities for all students to succeed. Too many young people leave high school without the tools they need to thrive in college or the workplace. At the same time, schools are often stretched thin—teachers and administrators simply don’t have the time or resources to dig into the root of these issues, let alone invest in and roll out new solutions that could help. Schools can’t be spending their limited funds on products and programs that don’t work, but they often don’t have the information they need to make informed decisions. I see my role as an education researcher as helping uncover what’s actually working—and what’s not—in schools. By gathering and making sense of data, I aim to give school and district leaders the information they need to choose the tools and programs that will truly support their students.

FUN FACT

In my spare time I like to read and run, though not simultaneously. I also sew clothing, quilt, and take care of dozens of houseplants.