Spotlight Delaware · May 21, 2026
New bill would give Delaware schools right to small annual tax hikes without referendum
How property-tax policies can reinforce funding inequalities between districts.
Read the coverage ↗Education policy · University of Delaware
How education policy shapes opportunity.
I study educational inequality and how public policy can improve students’ opportunities, with a focus on school funding and the ways educational systems distribute resources.
Kenneth A. ShoresAssociate Professor of Education
University of Delaware
University of Delaware
In the conversation
In the news.
Delaware Public Media · May 29, 2025
Experts express concern over Delaware’s new proposed education funding model ahead of final vote
Why education funding should follow student needs.
Read the coverage ↗The New York Times · October 24, 2022
Math scores fell in nearly every state, and reading dipped on national exam
National achievement declines and the scale of pandemic recovery.
Read the coverage ↗Featured interview · APM Reports
Sold a Story
The future of education research.
In “The Cuts,” I discuss my experience at the Institute of Education Sciences and the consequences of federal cuts to education research.
Listen to the episode ↗Research focus
Understanding educational inequality.
01
School finance & educational opportunity
How funding reforms change the resources available to schools, and what happens to students when public budgets fall short.
02
Inequality within educational systems
How school discipline, special education identification, and access to learning opportunities shape racial and socioeconomic disparities.
03
Student achievement & educational pathways
What test scores, course choices, and high school transcripts reveal about students’ opportunities and later outcomes.
About
From classrooms
to public policy.
Before becoming a researcher, I taught elementary and middle school on the Navajo Nation and middle school in Ecuador. I earned my Ph.D. in education policy analysis from Stanford University and have served as an evaluation scientist at the Institute of Education Sciences.
Read my biography →