Samuel_Peng@ed.gov
(202) 219-1643 (voice)
(202) 219-1736 (fax)

Biosketch:

Dr. Samuel S. Peng is an Adjunct Full Professor and a member of the Graduate Faculty of the University of Maryland.  His specialization covers research methodology, statistical analysis, program evaluation, educational assessment, survey research, and policy analysis.

Presently, Dr. Peng is a mathematical statistician in the Office of Commissioner of Education Statistics, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), U.S. Department of Education. During his tenure at NCES since 1980, he has assumed various positions, including Acting Associate Commissioner and Director of Postsecondary Education Data Systems, Acting Director of Statistical Services Group, Director of Methodological and Statistical Studies, Chief of Multilevel Studies Branch, Technical Planning Officer, and Project Officer. He has directed a number of national surveys, including High School and Beyond, the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, the National Study of Postsecondary Faculty, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.  He also has conducted numerous policy analyses and statistical research studies, particularly in the area of college access and choice, effective schooling, and education of disadvantaged children and racial/ethnic minorities.

In addition to program management and administration, Dr. Peng has taught graduate statistics courses in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Temple University in Philadelphia, as well as University of Maryland in College Park.  He also has conducted over 40 advanced seminars on the use of NCES’s national databases for research for advanced graduate students and faculty members throughout the country.  Over 1,200 educational researchers in this country have gone through his seminars.  He also taught elementary and secondary schools prior to his graduate study.

Dr. Peng has extensive publications on educational topics, ranging from educational policies, instructional strategies, effective schooling, student performance, educational reform, and educational evaluation. Recent studies include “Understanding Racial-Ethnic Differences in Secondary School Science and Mathematics Achievement,” and “Explanation of High Achievement of Asian American Students.” He also has been active in various professional associations, especially the American Educational Research Association and the Association for Institutional Research. He was on the review board of the American Educational Research Journal.  He was a founding member of two interest groups of AERA -- Advanced Studies of National Databases and Research on the Education of Asian and Pacific Americans.  He also initiated and served as the first President of the Chinese American Educational Research and Development Association, and he is presently the Chief Editor of the association’s quarterly journal, the New Waves -- Educational Research and Development.  This journal, publishing articles in English and Chinese, is widely read by educational researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in Asian countries as well as in the northern America.