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NORC at the University Chicago

Vi-Nhuan Le

Pronouns: She/Her

Principal Research Scientist
Education & Child Development
Vi-Nhuan applies advanced quantitative methods to program evaluations.

Vi-Nhuan is a principal research scientist in the Education & Child Development department. She has considerable experience researching issues related to mathematics and science reform, educational assessment, postsecondary access and persistence, and early childhood education. Her past projects have included examining the relationship between receipt of a preschool tuition credit and achievement outcomes at kindergarten and beyond, exploring the impact of merit pay on mathematics teachers’ attitudes and instructional practices, and studying the effects of participation in the College Bound readiness program on student test performance and college attendance.  
 
Vi-Nhuan has particular expertise in quantitative analysis of large-scale databases and has published multiple studies that make use of district, state, and national datasets. She is well-versed with advanced statistical approaches, including meta-analysis, propensity weighting, and regression discontinuity designs. Her work can be found in American Educational Research Journal, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Developmental Psychology, The Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Journal of Educational Measurement, and Research in Higher Education. She has previously received funding from the Institute of Education Sciences, National Institute of Health, Walton Family Foundation, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, and Hewlett Foundation. She holds a doctorate degree in psychometrics, a master’s degree in statistics, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

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Expertise

Education

PhD

Stanford University

MS

Stanford University

BA

University of California, Berkeley

Project Contributions

Measuring and Scaling Quality Pre-K in Arkansas

Assessing how early care and education programs are related to the readiness of children to learn

Client:

Walton Family Foundation; University of Colorado, Denver

Measuring Outcomes from Academically Oriented Kindergarten

Exploring whether advanced academics is related to kindergarteners’ academic and social outcomes

Client:

National Institutes of Health

Michigan Early Care and Education Workforce Study

Understanding the professional development needs of educators vital to high-quality ECE outcomes

Client:

Michigan Department of Education, Office of Great Start

Mile High Early Learning Evaluation

Assessing whether pay raises increase retention and decrease burnout for early care teachers

Client:

Mile High Early Learning

Tracking State Assessment in Science and Math Education

The first-ever tracking system for math and science education comparisons

Client:

National Science Foundation

Ready Classroom Mathematics Curriculum Evaluation

Correlating the use of Ready Classroom Mathematics with student achievement

Client:

Curriculum Associates, LLC

Pre-K Developmental Loss from COVID-19 Closures

Examining preschoolers’ cognitive and social skills during the pandemic

Client:

University of Colorado, Denver

Carnegie Institution for Science Climate Study

Assessing the work climate and culture of a major research institution

Client:

Carnegie Institution for Science

Transforming the Early Childhood Workforce in Colorado

Supporting recruitment and retention of highly qualified early care and education workers

Client:

Early Milestones Colorado; University of Colorado, Denver

Denver Preschool Program Evaluation

Considering whether tuition credits improve kindergarten readiness

Client:

Denver Preschool Program; University of Colorado, Denver

Denver Preschool Program—Post-Pandemic Practices

Examining how post-pandemic teaching practices affect preschoolers’ development

Client:

Denver Preschool Program

Early Childhood Teachers’ Coursework and Children’s Outcomes

Appraising how teachers’ postsecondary education relates to students’ development

Client:

National Institutes of Health

ECE Teachers’ Postsecondary Courses and Children’s Outcomes

Examining relationships between teachers’ coursework, instructional quality, and their students’ outcomes

Client:

RAND; University of Colorado, Denver

Graduate Research Fellowship Program Pilot Project

Innovating data collection methods to track National Science Foundation research fellowship outcomes

Client:

National Science Foundation

Student Absenteeism Meta-Analysis

A comprehensive analysis and meta-analytic synthesis of student absenteeism interventions

Client:

Institute of Education Sciences and the Smith Richardson Foundation

Publications

Research Library & Findings