Sherrie Reed Bennett

sreed
Sherrie Reed Bennett
Executive Director, California Education Lab, School of Education,
University of California, Davis

Sherrie Reed Bennett is executive director of the California Education Lab at the UC Davis School of Education, where she manages and directs faculty research efforts. Her work supports major collaborations among California’s public education segments, including formal partnerships with the California Department of Education, the University of California Office of the President, the California State University Chancellor’s Office, the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, and the California Student Aid Commission. Her research focuses on school reform, with studies on charter school accountability, student perceptions of school climate, and school finance in California’s charter and traditional public schools. She was previously  director of research for New Tech Network and worked in K–12 education as a special education teacher, school administrator, and charter school developer. Reed Bennett earned her BA in secondary education and an MA in special education from the University of Northern Colorado, and a PhD from the University of California, Davis.

updated 2025

Publications by Sherrie Reed Bennett
Identifying the Structural and Instructional Changes in K–12
This report fills a knowledge gap by reviewing the impact of school closures in California during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research indicates that younger students, low-income students, and English learners experienced disproportionate learning loss…
California’s College Readiness Standards and Lessons from District Leaders
This report summarizes efforts to align California's K-12 and postsecondary education systems to address disparities in educational attainment. Based on district leaders' interviews and quantitative data, the report finds that rigorous academic…
In this report we explore the patterns in mathematics course-taking among California public high school seniors. We describe what courses students are enrolled in and how course participation varies by key student characteristics, such as race/…
A Research Summary and Implications for Practice
Given the importance of a college degree for both individual and societal economic prosperity, policymakers and educators are focused on strengthening the path to college beyond college entry. In this report, we synthesize the existing literature on…