Raifu Durodoye Jr.

Overview

Raifu Durodoye Jr. is an educational researcher and practitioner whose work primarily consists of experimental and quasi-experimental evaluations of education programs and interventions. Durodoye also provides technical assistance and research support to school districts; state education agencies; and federal departments. The thrust of his work with education systems has been to foster meaningful research-practice partnerships with the aim of improving outcomes for historically marginalized students and currently underserved communities. 

Durodoye is the principal investigator of the Emergency License Educator Preparation Partnership (E2P2) Grant evaluation and co-leads a comprehensive study of tiered instruction across the state of Massachusetts. Both evaluations are funded by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and aim to improve student access to high-quality teaching and supports. Durodoye has previously led studies of the recruitment, hiring, and retention of teachers of color and has subsequently supported districts in implementing strategies to improve workforce outcomes. Additional roles and projects include being the co-principal investigator of an experimental study with the San Francisco Unified School District and serving as the lead quantitative analyst for an Education Innovation Research grant that will scale the Knowledge Acquisition and Transformation intervention. 

Prior to joining WestEd, Durodoye worked for the University of Delaware as a data strategist assigned to the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) and to the DDOE’s Teacher and Leader Effectiveness Branch. He was also the program manager for the state of Delaware’s Title I—Part A. While working with the DDOE, Durodoye crafted state policy for Delaware’s Every Student Succeeds Act state plan that set long-term and interim-educator equity goals and milestones. Additionally, Durodoye drafted statewide targets to reduce students’ exposure to ineffective, out-of-field, and novice teachers. At WestEd, Durodoye’s work has been affiliated with the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) West; REL Northeast & Islands; REL Mid-Atlantic; and the Region 13 and Region 14 Comprehensive Centers. 

Education

• PhD in public administration and policy, Virginia Tech
• MA in public administration, University of North Texas
• BA in Arts and Sciences, University of North Texas

Select Publications

Turner, H. & Durodoye, R. (2023). A Road Less Traveled for Designing Rigorous Studies to Identify Effective Technology-Based Reading Interventions. Technology, Knowledge and Learning. 29. 1233-1258.

Caven, M., Durodoye, R., Jr., & Zhang, X. (2021). A large urban district’s new teacher mentoring program: Mentoring practices and new teacher retention. Regional Education Laboratory Northeast & Islands. 

Durodoye, R., Gumpertz, M., Wilson, A., Griffith, E., Ahmad, S. (2019). Tenure and Promotion Outcomes at Four Large Land Grant Universities: Examining the Role of Gender, Race, and Academic Discipline. Research in Higher Education, 61(5). 

Ahmad, S., & Durodoye, R. (2019). Dig the Well Before You’re Thirsty: Long-Term Strategies to Strategically Cultivate the Teacher Workforce. In B. A. Durodoye, & R. Bryant (Eds.), From Disagreement to Discourse: A Chronicle of Controversies in Schooling and Education. Charlotte, NC: IAP. 

Honors, Awards, and Affiliations

IES Cluster Randomized Controlled Trials Institute, 2022 

Strategic Data Project Alumni Council, 2021–23 

What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Certified Reviewer—single case design studies, 2020 

What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Certified Reviewer—group design studies, 2020 

Delaware Family Services Cabinet Council—Integrated Data Systems Committee, 2017 

Recent Media Appearances

• In trying times, can mentoring stem the tide of teacher turnover?, The Hill, March 18, 2022.