David Blazar

David Blazar is an Assistant Professor of Education Policy and Economics at the University of Maryland College Park. He also is the Faculty Director of the Maryland Equity Project, an Affiliate Assistant Professor at the School of Public Policy, and an Affiliate at the Maryland Population Research Center. Substantively, his research examines public resources and policies that best support student outcomes and alleviate inequality, with a particular focus on teacher and teaching quality. Methodologically, he examines and employs research designs that aim to support causal conclusions. His research has been published in peer-reviewed journals in education, public policy, and economics, and has been covered in national press outlets including The Atlantic and Education Week.

Blazar received the Jean Flanigan Outstanding Dissertation Award from the Association for Education Finance and Policy, and he was recognized as an emerging education policy scholar by the Fordham Institute. He received his doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He also holds an Ed.M. in policy and management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. in history and literature from Harvard College. Prior to graduate school, he taught high-school English Language Arts in New York City.