TAMARA HALLE

Co-Director, Early Childhood Research & Senior Research Scientist
Ph.D., Developmental Psychology, University of Michigan
Dr. Halle conducts research and evaluation studies on children’s early cognitive and social development, early childhood care and education, family and community supports for school readiness, and school characteristics associated with ongoing achievement and positive development.  Her recent work focuses especially on early literacy development among English language learning children, and evaluations of early childhood curricula, programs, and professional development initiatives aimed at supporting children’s school readiness.  She is principal investigator of an evaluation of a Head Start Innovation and Improvement Program grant that is developing an online Associate’s degree program in infant-toddler development in both English and Spanish.  She is also principal investigator for the In the Running for Successful Outcomes project funded by the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that is examining the association between thresholds of school readiness skills and cognitive and behavioral outcomes in later schooling.

Dr. Halle has contributed to the design and analysis of several large-scale national surveys, including the ECLS-B, ECLS-K, FACES, and the NLSY97.  Her recent analyses of the ECLS-B and ECLS-K have resulted in several research reports on children’s development in early and middle childhood for the National Center for Education Statistics, the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, and the Council of the Chief State School Officers.

Dr. Halle’s undergraduate degree was awarded to her from the University of Maryland (B.S., Psychology) and her Master’s and Doctorate degrees were awarded by the University of Michigan (M.A., Ph.D., Developmental Psychology).