Topic: The failure of evidence-based policy in school education

Dr Ben Jensen

Ben is the founding CEO of Learning First. He has extensive experience in education reform, advising governments in Australia and numerous international systems. Ben is an experienced education economist in both the national and international sphere. He has led the work of Learning First since 2014, concentrating on high-performing education systems, education strategy and implementation, policies to increase teacher effectiveness (in particular, teacher evaluation, feedback and individualised development), the organisation of schools, and measuring performance in education.

Before starting Learning First, Ben was Director of the School Education Program at the Grattan Institute (an independent policy think tank) from 2009-2014. At Grattan, his work focused on school improvement, programmes to improve teaching and learning, education reform strategy and cost-effectiveness. Prior to joining Grattan, he worked at the OECD Directorate for Education for five years where his work focused on school improvement, teacher effectiveness, and how to measure school performance. In particular, he led an expert group examining how to accurately and meaningfully measure school performance and an international network comparing public policies that affect how schools operate and are organised. Much of his work concentrated on effective teaching practices, teacher management, and school leadership, and their effect on school outcomes. Ben has a PhD in Economics from the University of Melbourne.
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