Lynn Mellor
Lynn Mellor is a principal researcher at American Institutes for Research, where she provides overall leadership for all aspects of the analytic technical support and research and evaluation studies for the REL Southwest. Dr. Mellor’s responsibilities include managing the coordination and implementation of analytic technical support with research alliance members. In addition, she conducts applied research and evaluation studies. Dr. Mellor is also the project manager for the statewide evaluation of House Bill 5 in Texas, where she provides hands-on management, direction for all research activities, and supervision of the work of staff. Before joining SEDL (merged with AIR January 1, 2015), Dr. Mellor was a director at ACT, Inc. During her 10 years at ACT, she was primarily responsible for the development of higher-performing schools and college and career readiness targets in multiple states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Texas. During her tenure at ACT, she led a five-year study, funded by the Houston Endowment, to connect teacher effectiveness in the classroom to teacher preparation programs within the University of Texas system. The research used a mixed method, quasi-experimental approach with site visits to K–12 districts and teacher preparation programs, and the use of hierarchical linear modeling to connect student performance in the classroom to new teachers from these programs.
Dr. Mellor also worked for eight years at the Texas Education Agency, where she was responsible for the design and implementation of research and evaluation using the state’s longitudinal data system. In addition to research responsibilities at the Texas Education Agency, Dr. Mellor was involved in several initiatives to improve the data collection and standards of the Public Education Information Management System, including leading the development of comprehensive standards to track students leaving the public school system. She is a certified reviewer for What Works Clearinghouse.