Matthew Pepper

Senior Researcher

Dr. Matthew Pepper is a Senior Researcher at Basis Policy Research and an expert at designing and implementing program evaluations – with an emphasis on measures of teacher performance, compensation reform, and implementation science. Matthew led the evaluations of four Teacher & School Leaders (TSL) and one Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) grants in varied contexts. As part of these program evaluations, Dr. Pepper collaboratively reformed educator compensation systems, measured the fidelity of program implementation, and designed and administered tools and approaches to measure programmatic impact. He also specializes in large-scale surveying, and is entrusted to design and administer the annual Tennessee Educator Survey (which surveys all 80,000 certified educators in the state). As described by one colleague, “Matthew makes the trains run on time.”

Prior to joining Basis, Dr. Pepper served within a large, urban school district and as the Director of Research within a state department of education. He holds a master’s degree in Economics from Vanderbilt University and a doctorate in School Administration from Peabody College, also at Vanderbilt University. Matthew is a denizen of Minnesota and therefore has seasonal hobbies: backyard syruping in the spring, “Scamping” in the summer, biking in the fall, and cross country skiing in the winter.