David R. Garcia is an Assistant Professor in the College of Education at Arizona State University. Dr. Garcia's professional experience includes extensive work in state education policy development and implementation. Prior to his appointment at ASU, he was the Associate Superintendent of Public Instruction for the state of Arizona and worked for the Arizona state legislature. His research interests include school choice, school evaluation and the study of factors which facilitate or distort policy implementation across levels of the education system. Dr. Garcia has consulted for national organizations, including the US Department of Education and the National Council of La Raza, on issues related to school evaluation and accountability. Dr. Garcia received his doctorate from the University of Chicago in Education Policy, Research and Institutional studies.

E-mail David Garcia at: d.garcia@asu.edu.

Rebecca Barber is a Ph.D. student in the division of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Arizona State University. She comes to this via a circuitous route that includes a B.S. in Computer Information Systems and an M.B.A from the W. P. Carey School of Business, as well as a successful career as an Information Technology consultant and manager. This career included being Manager of Data Warehousing for Cornell University and Director of Information Technology for the Cornell School of Hotel Administration and the Statler Hotel.

Rebecca’s research interests include accountability and assessment at all levels of our educational system, the economic issues in and around education, the for-profit education industry, and the successful transition of students from K-12 to the post-secondary system.

E-mail Rebecca Barber at: Rebecca.Barber@asu.edu.