Brian Freeman, Ed.M.

Brian Freeman is a social science researcher and evaluation leader with more than 14 years of experience working on research, evaluation, evidence synthesis, and survey projects in education, workforce development, and housing and asset building. He has led and advised studies for federal, state, and nonprofit organizations. His capabilities span quantitative methods, systematic evidence reviews, survey design and administration, and meta-analysis. He also has experience translating complex findings into actionable guidance for policymakers and practitioners.

Freeman’s current work positions clients to make defensible decisions grounded in rigorous evidence. For the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse, he is leading an expert panel to develop an evidence-to-practice guide on case management. He also ensures the accuracy and quality of several independent evaluations of federal Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grants. As a lead people manager, he fosters the professional growth of nearly three dozen early career researchers.

Previously, Freeman directed the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) What Works Clearinghouse evidence synthesis projects that produced educator practice guides and intervention reports. He also led an EIR evaluation of a school leadership intervention and directed technical assistance for IES Learning Acceleration Challenges finalist teams. He directed a 25-country review of more than 280 studies on inclusive education that generated an evidence summary cited over 800 times.

Expertise

• Evidence synthesis and systematic reviews
• Program evaluation and impact analysis
• Quantitative methods and meta-analysis
• Survey design, administration, and analysis
• Evaluation technical assistance

Key Projects

• Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse, ACF
• What Works Clearinghouse Preschool-to-Postsecondary Evidence Synthesis Task Orders, IES
• IES Learning Acceleration Challenges,
• Empirical Benchmarks for Interpreting Effect Size and Design Parameters for Planning Multilevel Randomized Trials on Social & Behavioral Outcomes, IES
• A Review of the Evidence on Inclusion of Students with Disabilities, Instituto Alana

Publications

• Lemire, Sebastian, Brian Freeman, and Allan Porowski. 2026. “Co-Developing Practice Guides: A Researcher-Practitioner Model for Evidence-Based Practice.” Evaluation and Program Planning 114: 102728.
• Wilson, Sandra J., Brian Freeman, and Eric C. Hedberg. 2025. “Empirical Benchmarks for Effect Size Interpretation and Study Planning with Social and Behavioral Outcomes.” Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 1–26.
• Lane, Kathleen L., Tabathia Baldy, Tammy Becker, Catherine Bradshaw, Virginia Dolan, Allison Dymnicki, Brian Freeman, Laura Holian, Sebastian Lemire, Kent McIntosh, Shawn Moulton, Rhonda Nese, Ruthie Payno-Simmons, Allan Porowski, and Kevin Sutherland. 2024. Teacher-Delivered Behavioral Interventions in Grades K–5. Washington, DC: Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
• Freeman, Brian, Supriya Tamang, Jesse Wood, and Liz Yadav. 2023. Reenergizing Leadership to Achieve Greater Student Success: EIR EARLY04 Grant Implementation & Impact Findings Report.
• Hehir, Thomas, Todd Grindal, Brian Freeman, Renée Lamoreau, Yolanda Borquaye, and Samantha Burke. 2016. A Summary of the Evidence on Inclusive Education. Cambridge, MA: Abt Associates.

Certifications

• What Works Clearinghouse Group Design Standards, Version 5.0
• What Works Clearinghouse Advanced Group Design Standards, Version 5.0
• What Works Clearinghouse Single-Case Design Standards, Version 5.0