August 2026

Jason Grissom is Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Public Policy and Education and (by courtesy) of Political Science at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College. He also serves as faculty director of the Tennessee Education Research Alliance, a research-policy-practice partnership that produces research to inform Tennessee’s school improvement efforts.

Q: Could you describe the mission of the Tennessee Education Research Alliance and the role it plays in connecting education research with policy and practice?

The Tennessee Education Research Alliance (TERA) aims to conduct rigorous, actionable research that state and local leaders in Tennessee can use in their decision-making. We believe that the only real way to connect research with policy and practice is by engaging with policymakers and practitioners throughout the process of identifying where evidence can be valuable, figuring out how to generate that evidence, and then understanding and applying it. The people we work with have the same goal we have, which is to improve outcomes for students and educators across Tennessee. We think the more evidence we bring to bear, the more successful we will be.

Q: What drew you to become involved with TERA, and what opportunities did you see for strengthening connections among researchers, policymakers, and educators?

I only ever pursued a career in education research to do work that would matter to educators and policymakers. I have been engaging with policymakers and practitioners my whole career. A great thing about coming to Vanderbilt 15 years ago was that I joined a group of colleagues who were similarly engaged, including with leaders at the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE). When a small team of TDOE and Vanderbilt folks, including me, came together to design TERA, we were building on existing strong and successful partnerships. Collectively, we thought everyone would benefit from having a more systematic infrastructure for asking questions, collaborating on research, sharing data, communicating results, and so forth. And I think our longevity suggests we were right: TERA turns 10 in October.

Q: Since taking on the faculty director role, what accomplishments or initiatives are you most proud of?

If I had to pick just one, I would say I am most proud of the success of the Tennessee Educator Survey (TES), which is a survey of all certificated staff across the state that we run in collaboration with TDOE each spring. About half of educators participate every year, and we do individualized reporting for schools and districts hitting a participation threshold. We have been able to build a survey that can be useful for school and district leaders to understand what is happening on the ground, for state leaders who want to track statewide initiatives, and for researchers to incorporate the voices of educators into their work.

More generally, I’m proud that TERA’s staff and affiliates have 10 years of building evidence to inform not just the state but the field at large. Beyond all the presentations, reports, and briefs, we’ve published about 75 peer-reviewed journal articles from our work over the last 10 years, which I think demonstrates the high standards of rigor we have been able to maintain.

Q: How does TERA use research and data analysis to help inform decisions by state and district leaders and support improved outcomes for students?

TERA’s work has three pillars. The first is intentional design. We aim to conduct high-quality studies that will produce actionable results for our partners. That dual focus on rigor and usability is key. The second is collaborative relationships. We work closely with our policy/practice partners at every stage, from figuring out the right questions to identifying data to choices about methodological approaches to interpreting what we find to planning the best way to communicate our results. That collaboration is essential for buy-in. The third is accessible communications. We try to be thoughtful about how we can use multiple platforms and formats to reach different audiences, and how we can describe research to maximize transparency and accessibility. Evidence can’t be usable if we can’t get it to decision-makers in an understandable form.

Q: Why is it important for education researchers to engage directly with state and district leaders, education organizations, and practitioners? What can researchers gain from those partnerships, and what can those partners gain from researchers?

Education researchers should engage with educators and leaders “doing the work” to make themselves useful and give their expertise and their research the opportunity to be informative. But just as important, working closely with policymakers and practitioners helps develop a much deeper and more nuanced understanding of the challenges they are grappling with. I am always learning from those conversations, and the work I produce is no doubt better as a result.

Q: The Reimagining IES report released earlier this year highlighted the importance of strengthening research capacity within states and districts. What advice would you offer researchers who want to build sustainable partnerships and expand the use of evidence in education decision-making?

Successful partnerships require strong relationships, and building those relationships is part of the work. The best partnerships I’ve had with state policymakers or local leaders have all had positive working relationships at their core. We took the time to build trust, establish a rhythm of communication, and develop shared goals for our joint work. I think sometimes researchers think, “they should just give me their data so I can do my good work with it because they will learn something that will be helpful to their work.” But to the policymaker or practitioner, nothing in those quotation marks is self-evident. If they don’t know and trust you, sharing data feels risky and takes resources without a clear return. If you haven’t taken the time to learn about the context of their work and their needs, they have no reason to think you’ll produce anything useful.

I don’t have the space to say much about how researchers build relationships with policymakers and practitioners, but here are three principles I have found helpful. One is to recognize that your prospective partner knows a lot that you don’t know, so listen more than you talk. The second is to try to be extra capacity for them. If they ask a question or suggest something they need to know more about — from existing research, or even from their own data — try to find an answer and follow through, even if it takes a little time. And third, follow what we call the “no surprises” rule at TERA. I never publish or circulate something publicly from a partnership that they haven’t seen and had time to discuss first.

Q: Looking ahead to the coming school year, what are TERA’s priorities, and what opportunities do you see for research to help address Tennessee’s most pressing education challenges?

We are always trying to be responsive to the state’s needs, so what state and local decision-makers in Tennessee are interested in are our priorities. We are always working on educator pipeline and workforce issues, strategies for persistently low-performing schools, andissues related to preparing students for postsecondary success. Tennessee has been investing in improving literacy, and now numeracy is getting more attention. And obviously how AI should (and shouldn’t) be harnessed in schools is bubbling up a lot. It's a lot to take on — but that's exactly why partnerships like TERA's need to exist.