Jaekyung Lee

Jaekyung Lee, (University of Chicago, PhD), is a UB Distinguished Professor and former Dean of the Graduate School of Education at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. Being an advocate for whole-child/youth development and universal learning rights, Lee specializes in educational policy research, assessment and evaluation with focus on the issues of educational equity and accountability. His research is aimed at improving evidence-based policies and practices towards closing the inequalities of education opportunities and achievement/well-being gaps among disadvantaged and marginalized students across the world.

Lee is the author/editor of books, including "The Anatomy of Achievement Gaps: Why and How American Education is Losing (But Can Still Win) the War on Underachievement" (Oxford University Press, 2016) and "Centering Whole-Child Development in Global Education Reform: International Perspectives on Agendas for Educational Equity and Quality" (Routledge, 2022). Additionally, he has published over 100 scholarly outputs, in leading outlets such as Educational Researcher, American Educational Research Journal, Review of Educational Research, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. He also contributed to policy research reports, including Harvard University Civil Rights Project (2006). “Tracking Achievement Gaps and Assessing the Impact of NCLB on the Gaps”. Externally, he has secured research grants from the National Science Foundation and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), among others, including his current role as Co-PI of the IES-funded National Center for Early Literacy and Responsible AI (CELaRAI).

Lee is a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), a Fellow of the National Education Policy Center (NEPC), and a former Fellow of the Stanford University Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS). Recently he has engaged in international comparative education research as the Fulbright Global Scholar (Korea, Kazakhstan, and Vietnam), and as the World Education Research Association (WERA) and International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Visiting Researcher (South Africa). He currently serves as the Chair of AERA International Relations Committee.

• PhD, University of Chicago

• UB Exceptional Scholar of Sustained Achievement Award; University at Buffalo; 2024-08-26;
• World Education Research Association (WERA) and International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Visiting Researcher Award (University of Pretoria, South Africa); World Education Research Association (WERA) and International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA); 2024-05-01;
• Fulbright Global Scholar Award; The US State Department Fulbright Program; 2020-04-09;
• Richard P. Nathan Public Policy Fellowship (2018); The Rockefeller Institute of Government; 2018-01-01;
• Robert W. Heller Award; Western New York Educational Service Council; 2015-10-01;

• Ait Si Mhamed, A., Lee, J., & Kasa, R. (2025). The effects of per-capita funding on school funding adequacy and equity in Kazakhstan. KEDI Journal of Education Policy, 22(1), 103-123. https://doi.org/10.22804/kjep.2025.22.1.005
• Lee, J., Seo, Y. S., Faith, M. S., Barch, F., & Loja, L. (2025). Do Community Schools Work for High-Needs Students? Evaluating Integrated Student Support Services and Outcomes for Equity. Education Sciences, 15(8), 1032. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15081032
• Jang, S. T., & Lee, J. (2025). The Equity Implications of School Principal Evaluation for Student Achievement: A Critical Quantitative Policy Analysis. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737251320340
• Lee, J., Kim, N., Su, M., & Greenwood, S. (2024). What High-Impact Practices Work for Minoritized Students? Institutional Inequities in College Learning Opportunities and Outcomes. Trends in Higher Education 3(2), 180-198. https://doi.org/10.3390/higheredu3020011

• Lee, J., Lamb, R. & Kim, S. (2025). Artificial Intelligence and Learning. In A. Hynds (Ed.) Oxford Bibliographies in Education. New York: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/OBO/9780199756810-0269

• Lee, J. (2024, October). Transforming Lives through Education: A Comparative Study of Korea and South Africa. World Education Research Association (WERA) & International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Invited Research Seminar. University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.;

• Lee, J. & Kim, S. (2025, April). Career Aspiration and Readiness Gaps: American High Schoolers’ Skill Mismatch for STEM and Health Jobs. Paper presented at the 2025 annual meeting of American Educational Research Association (AERA), Denver.;
• Lee, J., Seo, Y., Faith, M., Barch, F., & Loja, L. (2025, April). Do Community Schools Work for High-Needs Students? Evaluating Integrated Student Support Services and Outcomes for Equity. Paper presented at the 2025 annual meeting of American Educational Research Association (AERA), Denver.;
• Lee, J., Seo, Y., & Faith, M. (2024, April). Whole-Child Development Losses and Racial Inequalities during the Pandemic: Fallouts of School Accountability Turnover with Remote Learning and Unprotective Community. Paper presented at the 2024 annual meeting of American Educational Research Association (AERA), Philadelphia.;
• Lee, J. & Su, M. (2023, April). Re-envisioning American Education Reform: How and Why Whole Community Environment Matters for Whole Child Development. Symposium Paper presented at the 2023 annual meeting of American Educational Research Association (AERA), Chicago.;

• HELP (Health-Education-Life Protection) for At-Risk Children in Disaster-Affected Nations; Local Government; UB Office of International Education; Awarded; (06/01/2023-05/31/2025)
• Academic and Sociocultural Readiness for Postgraduate Education among Immigrant and International Students: Promoting Equal Access and Success in Graduate/Professional Schools; Foundation and Research Organization; Access/Lex Institute and the Association for Institutional Research; Awarded; (03/01/2019-05/31/2020)

• Center for Early Literacy and Responsible AI (CELaRAI): Innovating Beginning Reading Instruction for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners; Federal Government; Institute of Education Sciences; Awarded; (09/01/2024-08/31/2029)

• Consulting Editor of Educational Psychology: An International Journal of Experimental Educational Psychology
  04/29/2020-03/31/2025
• Editorial Board Member, Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI) Journal of Educational Policy, 2009 – Present
  01/01/2009-12/31/2026
• Editorial Board Member, Education Policy Analysis Archives, 2007 – Present
  01/01/2007-12/31/2026

• AERA International Relations Committee (IRC) Chair
  05/01/2023-04/30/2026
• Fulbright U.S. National Screening Committee Member for English Teacher Assistantship Program, 2021 - Present
  09/01/2021-08/31/2024