Annie Wright

Dr. Annie Wright is the Executive Director for Southern Methodist University’s Center on Research and Evaluation (CORE). She is a Clinical Community psychologist and a program evaluator. Her expertise is in the planning, implementation and evaluation of K-12 educational programming. She works with a range of educational ecosystems, including districts, schools, and out of school time non-profits. She has a particular interest in the work of community coalitions focused on systems-level change.

Dr. Wright pays particular attention to both community and implementation science principles in order to inform and advocate for effective and equitable programming. Within educational settings, her content expertise covers expanded learning ecosystems, stratigic partnerships, social & emotional learning and STEM, pre-kindergarten and early childhood education, programming within museums and other informal learning settings, college and career readiness, and educator pipeline programs.

Her responsibilities as the Executive Director include ensuring the quality and rigor of all CORE projects and facilitating smooth collaboration with program staff, funders, and other evaluation partners. Dr. Wright is also responsible for developing complex, yet feasible, process and outcome evaluation plans, multiple forms of data collection, management, analysis, report writing and presentations, in addition to coordinating CORE’s evaluation team.

Dr. Wright co-leads the Consortium on Educational Research and Improvement (CERI), a formal research-practice partnership between SMU and DallasISD.

First Author Publications and Key Reports

Wright, A., Farmer, D., & Baker, S. (2016). Review of Early Childhood Assessments; Methods and Recommendations. Prepared for Texas Education Agency; https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/Assessment_Review_Final_Report.pdf.

Wright, A., Lamont, A., Wandersman, A., & Osher, D. (2014) Getting to outcomes and social and emotional learning programs. In, Handbook of Social and Emotional Learning, CASEL, Chicago, IL.

Wright, A., Duffy, J., Kershner, S., Flynn, S., & Lamont, A. (2014) New opportunities in teen pregnancy prevention: Identifying individual and environmental differences between youth who abstain, use contraception and use no contraception. American Journal of Community Psychology.

Wright, A. & Kloos, B. (2006). Housing environment and mental health outcomes: A levels of analysis perspective. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 27, 1, 79-89, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272494406000892

Wright, A. & Davis, A.A. (2008). Adolescent pregnancy through educators’ eyes: Perceptions of worries and provision of support, Urban Education, 43, 6.

Contributing Author Publications

Wieselmann, J. R., Knight, S., & Wright, A. (2023). Continuous improvement in STEM education: Collaboration among four partners to co-design an innovative and equitable STEM school. In E. A. Anderson & S. D. Hayes (Eds.), Continuous improvement: A leadership process for school improvement. Information Age Publishing.

Farmer, D.E., Kara, Y., Wright, A., Hujar, J., Kamata, A., & Baker, S.K. (Under Review). Examining the effects of prekindergarten to second grade classroom quality on early elementary achievement. Early Childhood Research Quarterly.

Wieselmann, J. R., Knight, S., & Wright, A. (2022); chapter proposal accepted; in preparation). Continuous improvement in STEM education: Collaboration among four partners to co-design an innovative and equitable STEM school. In E. A. Anderson & S. D. Hayes (Eds.), Continuous improvement: A leadership process for school improvement. Information Age Publishing.

Farmer, D., Kara, Y., Wright, A., Kamata, A., & Baker, S.K. (under development) Examining the effects of pre-k to second grade quality on early elementary achievement.

Baker, S., Kamata, A., Wright, A., Nippert, R. Farmer, D., Markle, R., & Lan, P. (2018). Estimating treatment effects of afterschool interventions provided within a community coalition; Propensity score matching and third grade reading outcomes. Journal of Community Psychology.

Lamont, A., Markle, R., Wright, A., Abraczinzkas, M., Smith, S., Imm, P, Wandersman, A. (2017). Innovative methods in evaluation: An application of Latent Class Analysis to assess how teachers adopt educational innovations. American Journal of Evaluation.

Lamont, A., Wright, A., Wandersman, A., Hamm. D. (2014). An empowerment evaluation approach to implementing with quality at scale: The Quality implementation process and tools. In, Empowerment Evaluation, 2nd Edition, D. Fetterman, S, Kaftarian & A. Wandersman, Eds.

Meyers, D. C., Katz, J., Chien, V., Wandersman, A., Scaccia, J. P., & Wright, A. (2012). A synthesis and translation of implementation frameworks: Development and piloting of the quality implementation tool. American Journal of Community Psychology, 50, 3, 481-496.

Townley, G., Kloos, B., & Wright, A. (2008). Understanding the experience of place: Expanding methods to conceptualize and measure community integration of persons with serious mental illness. Health & Place, 15,2 , 520-531.

Chinman, M., Burkhart, Q, Ebener, P., Fan, C., Imm, P., Osilla, K. C., Paddock, S.M., Wright, A. (2011). The premises is the premise: Understanding off- and on-premises alcohol sales outlets to improve environmental alcohol prevention strategies, Prevention Science, 12, 181-191

Chinman, M., Burkhart, Q, Ebener, P., Fan, C., Imm, P., Osilla, K. C., Paddock, S.M., Wright, A. (2013). The carrot and the stick: Influences on responsible merchant practices to reduce underage drinking. Journal of Community Psychology, 41, 4, 463-470.

Selected Conference Presentations

Wang, K., Kara, Y., Wilhelm, A.M., Hunnicutt, J., and Wright, A. (2024). Effects of Pre-K and Kindergarten classroom quality on student achievements.  Presentation at AERA, 2024.

Wright, A., Gildin, B., and Kara, Y. (2023).  Co-Creation of A Youth Development Scale:
Expanding Possibilities for Development and Equity in Community Education Spaces. Presented at American Educational Research Association Conference, Chicago, IL.

Kara, Y., Wright, A., Cunningham, L., Johns, R., Ticzon, C., and Petrosino, T. (2023). Examining the effectiveness of Upward Bound Programs. Presented at American Educational Research Association Conference, Chicago, IL.

Kara, Y., Wright, A., Cunningham, L., Johns, R., Ticzon, C., and Petrosino, T. (2023). College Access Program Participants’ Enrollment in Postsecondary Programs: An Investigation of Potential Predictors. Presented at American Educational Research Association Conference, Chicago, IL.

Shekar, A., Wright, A., Valdez, M. (2023) Advancing Equitable Evaluation & Research through Participatory Approaches: Lessons from the Young Women’s Initiative Study. Presented at American Evaluation Association, New Orleans, LA.

Wright, A., Kurlander, G., Wattley, E., Nelson, S. (2022).  Evaluation-Forward: Creating partnerships where funders, non-profits and evaluators rise and learn together.  Presented at Philanthropy Southwest, Colorado Springs, CO.

Wright, A., McPherson, G., and Murat, M. (2022). Data on the Move: Lessons We Are Learning From the Expanded Learning Information System. Presented at National Afterschool Association, Las Vegas, NV.

Farmer, D., Wright, A., Kara, Y., Kamata, A., & Baker, S. (2021). Examining the effect of PreK-to second-grade classroom quality on early elementary achievement. Presented at American Educational Research Association, virtual.

Kara, Y., Kamata, A., Farmer, D., Wright, A., Baker, S. (2021). Modeling carryover classroom effects; A comparison of two multilevel structural equation modeling approaches.  Presented at American Educational Research Association, virtual.

[no conference presentations in 2020]

Wright, A., Farmer, D., Johns, R. (2019). Using Everything Evaluation Has to Offer: Case Study of an Early Learning Research-Practice Partnership. In, Implementing an Early Learning Quality Improvement System at Scale: A Research-Practice Partnership. Presented at American Evaluation Association, Minneapolis, MN.

Wright, A., Farmer, D., Kara, Y., Zannou, Y., Van Eaton, G. (2019) Impact of Teach for America in Texas: Six Years, Five Regions, Ten Grade Levels and Nine Content Areas. Presented at American Evaluation Association, Minneapolis, MN.

Wright, A. (2019). Comprehensive evaluation supports. In, Using the Getting to Outcomes (GTO) Accountability System in Educational Settings. Presented at American Evaluation Association, Minneapolis, MN.

Wright, A., Farmer, D., Little, D. & Waddell, K. (2018). Improving the quality of teacher-child interactions as a community: CLASS, coaches and the community. Momentum 2018, Ft. Worth, TX.

Wright, A., Farmer, D., Zannou, Y. (2016). When to use which design: A description of consultative, developmental, formative & summative approaches to evaluating educational initiatives. Presented at: American Evaluation Association Conference, Atlanta, GA.