Alexander Kurz

Associate Research Professor, MLF Teachers College

MLFTC Farmer (ED) 342 B Tempe, AZ 85287-2111
Mail code: 5411

Campus: Tempe
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Long Bio

Alexander Kurz is an associate research professor in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University. He is also the director of the Arizona Practitioner-Researcher Partnership (AzPREP) Office and the internship program for Applied Data Analysis & Visualization (ADAV).

Professor Kurz, a native of Germany, received his doctorate in special education from Vanderbilt University in 2011. He has studied in Germany and the United States, earning degrees in special education and philosophy. Prior to entering academia, he worked as a special education teacher, board certified behavior analyst (BCBA), and data scientist for Discovery Education Assessment. His graduate work focused on behavior disorders, applied behavior analysis, educational measurement, and the inclusion of students with disabilities in test-based accountability.

Professor Kurz has published over 50 articles and chapters on opportunity-to-learn (OTL), instructional coaching, educational technology, alignment, accessibility, and testing accommodations. He has co-edited the "Handbook of Accessible Achievement Tests," and his work has appeared in books such as the "Handbook of Educational Psychology" and journals such as Exceptional Children, Applied Measurement in Education, and the Journal of Special Education. Over the past ten years, he has been awarded over 50 million dollars in external funding to conduct research projects for local, state, and federal agencies, including IES, OSEP, NSF, and USAID. Together with other colleagues, he also developed three educational technologies to improve OTL, lesson planning, and instructional coaching: MyiLOGS, Classpath, and ReadyCoach.

Education

Ph.D. Special Education (Interdisciplinary Program in Educational Psychology), Vanderbilt University 2011

M.Ed. Special Education (Applied Behavior Analysis Certification Program), Vanderbilt University 2007

Curriculum Vitae

Research Interests

Professor Kurz’s research focuses on improving the teaching effectiveness of general and special education teachers through data-based decision-making, researcher-practitioner partnerships (RPPs), and instructional coaching. To this end, he has been successful in winning over 50 million dollars in external funding to conduct research projects for local, state, and federal agencies, including IES, OSEP, NSF, and USAID. Previously, he has led federally funded research projects on school improvement in Title 1 schools; OTL and student growth; formative assessment of teacher instruction and student achievement; and human capital management systems.

Presently, he is conducting research on the use of educational technology for improving instructional coaching and the implementation of researcher-practitioner partnerships (RPPs) in rural contexts. Professor Kurz also leads research and evaluation efforts for local non-profits such as Valley of the Sun United Way (VSUW) and the Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (ADDPC), as well as foreign governments such as the Kingdom of Morocco through USAID.

Publications

Kurz, A., Reddy, L. A., Kettler, R. J., Glover, T. A., Velasquez, M. K., & Kirtman, L. (2020). Work styles attributes and their relations to instructional coaching behaviors. Journal of Professional Development in Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2020.1712450

Reddy, L. A., Hua, A. N., Dudek, C. D., Kettler, R. J., Arnold-Berkovits, I., Lekwa, A., Crouse, K., Kurz, A., & Hu, J. (2019). The relationship between school administrator and teacher ratings of classroom practices on student achievement in high-poverty schools. Assessment for Effective Intervention. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534508419862863

Arnold-Berkowitz, I., Kurz, A., & Reddy, L. A. (2019). Teacher log of students’ opportunity to learn and classroom observation: An initial investigation of convergence. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability. 31, 97-119. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11092-018-9288-2

Elliott, S. N., Kurz, A., & Yel., N. (2019). Opportunity to learn what is on the test and performance on the test. Journal of Special Education, 53(2), 76-84. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022466918802465

Glover, T. A., Kettler, R .J., Reddy, L. A., & Kurz, A. (2019). Formative assessment approaches to inform teacher practices: Key considerations. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 44(2), 67-68. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534508418811589

Glover, T. A., Reddy, L. A., Kurz, A., & Elliott, S. N. (2019). Use of an online platform to facilitate and investigate data-driven instructional coaching. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 44(2), 95-103, https://doi.org/10.1177/1534508418811593

Reddy, L. A., Glover, T. A., Kurz, A., & Elliott, S. N. (2019). Assessing the effectiveness and interactions of instructional coaches: Initial psychometric evidence for the Instructional Coaching Assessments- Teacher Forms. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 44(2), 104-119. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534508418771739

Kettler, R. J., Reddy, L. A., Glover, T. A., & Kurz, A. (2019). Bridging-the-gap: Classroom Strategies Assessment System-Observer Form. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 44(2), 120-122. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534508417747391

Dudek, C. M., Kettler, R. J., Reddy, L. A., & Kurz, A. (2018). Use of multiple assessments for measuring teacher practice: An initial investigation for educational practice. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 8(10), 6-23. http://dx.doi.org/10.30845/ijhss.v8n10p2

Kettler, R. J., Arnold-Berkovits, I., Reddy, L. A., Kurz, A., Dudek, C. M., Hua, A. N., & Lekwa, A. (2018). Multi-method teacher evaluation for high poverty schools: Observations and self-ratings of instructional and behavioral management. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 59, 224-234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2018.08.004

Reddy, L. A., Dudek, C. M., Peters, S., Alperin, A., Kettler, R. J., & Kurz, A. (2018). Teachers’ and school administrators’ attitudes and beliefs of teacher evaluation: A preliminary investigation of high poverty school districts. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 30, 47-70. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11092-017-9263-3

Kurz, A., Reddy, L. A., & Glover, T. A. (2017). A multidisciplinary framework of instructional coaching. Theory Into Practice, 56, 66-77. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2016.1260404

Research Activity

Kurz,Alexander*. Yr 3: The School System Improvement Project (SSI) 2014. RUTGERS UNIV(10/1/2014 - 9/30/2015).
Kurz,Alexander*. Thriving Together Initiative - Arizona Practitioner - Research Educational Partnership. VALLEY OF SUN UNITED WAY(10/1/2014 - 9/30/2015).
Elliott,Stephen Nelson, Kurz,Alexander. Integrated Technology Tools for Optimizing Instruction and Assessment Results for Students with Disabilities. ED(10/1/2013 - 9/30/2018).
Kurz,Alexander*. What Works for Title I Schools: Understanding the Contributors and Barriers to School Improvement. ED(7/1/2013 - 6/30/2015).
Kurz,Alexander*, Kurz,Alexander*. The School System Improvement (SSI). RUTGERS UNIV(10/1/2012 - 9/30/2015).

Courses

2022 Fall

Course Number	Course Title
DCI 707	Proposal Writing

Presentations

Elliott, S. N., Kurz, A., Yel, N., & Tindal, G. (2017, April). Mathematics content aligned or not and test performances of students with disabilities. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Council on Measurement in Education, San Antonio, TX

Kurz, A. (February, 2017). Educational redemption and instructional coaching. Paper presented at the annual Pacific Research Coast Conference, San Diego, CA.

Kothari, P., Kurz, A., Perrault, P. G., & Sheldahl, J. (2016, October). Equitable data-driven decisions: Creating strong community learning partnerships. Paper presented at the annual meeting for the Grantmakers for Education, Denver, CO.

Yarbro, J., McKnight, K., Elliott, S. E., & Kurz, A. (2016, June). Digital instructional strategies and their role in classroom instruction. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Society for Technology in Education, Denver, CO.

Honors / Awards

Tableau® Fellow, Tableau Data Fellow for Data Visualization to Support Data-Based Decision Making and Continuous Improvement, Tableau Foundation (2015)
Article of the Year, Editorial Board of Assessment for Effective Intervention selection for Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Division CEDS (2015)
Bonsal Applied Education Research Award, Award for Research and Development of Educational Technology with Large-Scale Application K-12 (2011)

Service

Local Impact and Social Embeddedness (LISE) Partnership, Director for Data and Research (2021 - Present)
Internship Program for Applied Data Analysis & Visualization (ADAV), Director (2013 - Present)
Arizona Practitioner-Researcher Educational Partnership (AzPREP) Office, Director (2013 - Present)
Thriving Together Collective Impact Initiative, Director for Data and Research (2014 - 2021)

Expertise Areas

Assessments, Tests, and Evaluation in Education

Data Visualization

Educational Technology

Educator Professional Development

Interdisciplinarity

Program Evaluation

Special Education