Kevin Carey (born October 6, 1970) is an American
higher education
Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...
writer and policy analyst. He serves as Director of the Education Policy Program at
New America, a non-profit, non-partisan research organization based in
Washington, D.C.
)
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, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
He writes regularly on education for The Upshot at the New York Times, and is guest editor of the annual ''
Washington Monthly
''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine of United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine is known for its annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which serves as an alternat ...
'' College Guide.
He has taught education policy at
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
,
and was a monthly columnist for six years at ''
The Chronicle of Higher Education
''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals (staff members and administrators). A subscription is required to rea ...
''.
He has been described by ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
columnist
David Leonhardt
David Leonhardt (born January 1, 1973) is an American journalist and columnist. Since April 30, 2020, he has written the daily "The Morning" newsletter for ''The New York Times''. He also contributes to the paper's Sunday Review section. His col ...
as “one of the sharpest higher education experts out there” and by ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' education reporter
Jay Mathews
Jay Mathews is an author and education columnist with the ''Washington Post''.
Career
Mathews has worked at the ''Washington Post'' writing news reports and books about China, disability rights, the stock market, and education. He writes the ''Cla ...
as “the best higher education writer in the country.”
Carey has written features and articles for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', ''
The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...
'', ''
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
'', and ''
The American Prospect
''The American Prospect'' is a daily online and bimonthly print American political and public policy magazine dedicated to American modern liberalism and progressivism. Based in Washington, D.C., ''The American Prospect'' says it "is devoted to ...
'', among other publications. He has testified to the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
and
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
committees on education, and has appeared as a commentator on
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
,
C-SPAN
Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...
,
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
, and other media outlets.
His book, ''
The End of College: Creating the Future of Learning and the University of Everywhere,'' was published by
Riverhead Books
Riverhead Books is an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) founded in 1994 by Susan Petersen Kennedy.
Writers published by Riverhead include Ali Sethi, Marlon James (novelist), Marlon James, Junot Díaz, George Saunders, Khaled Hosseini, Nick Hornby, ...
in 2015. He has co-edited three books on education, including ''Stretching the Higher Education Dollar.'' His writing was anthologized in Best American Legal Writing, and he has received an Education Writers Association award for commentary.
Prior to joining the New America Foundation, Carey served for eight years as policy director at
Education Sector, and before that in various analyst roles at the Education Trust, the
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) is a progressive American think tank that analyzes the impact of federal and state government budget policies. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Center's stated mission is to "conduct resear ...
, and the
Indiana Senate Finance Committee.
Between 1999 and 2001 he was
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
’s Assistant State Budget Director for Education.
Education and personal life
Carey has a bachelor's degree in political science from
Binghamton University
The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university with campuses in Binghamton, New York, Binghamton, Vestal, New York, Vestal, and Johnson City, New Yor ...
in 1992, and a
Masters in Public Administration
The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...
from
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
in 1995. He lives with his wife and daughter in Arlington, VA.
Career
After completing his
M.P.A. at
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
, Carey moved to
Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
, where he became an education finance analyst for the state of
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, helping to develop a new formula for setting property taxes and distributing state financial aid that was designed to help low-income children.
He later became a Senior Analyst for the
Indiana Senate Finance Committee, where he wrote legislation and advised the Democratic caucus on matters of fiscal policy.
In 1999 he became
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
's Assistant State Budget Director for Education, a position in which he advised Governor
Frank O'Bannon
Frank Lewis O'Bannon (January 30, 1930 – September 13, 2003) was an American politician who served as the 47th governor of Indiana from 1997 until his death in 2003. As of October 2022, he remains the most recent United States Governor to ha ...
on K-12 and higher education policy issues.
Carey moved to Washington, D.C. in 2001, and joined the
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) is a progressive American think tank that analyzes the impact of federal and state government budget policies. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Center's stated mission is to "conduct resear ...
(CBPP) as a policy analyst.
His work at the CBPP focused on state poverty-based education funding programs.
In 2003 Carey joined the Education Trust,
where he served as Director of Policy Research and created the CollegeResults.org graduation rate website.
In September 2005, Carey helped found
Education Sector, an independent education think tank.
At Education Sector he led the organization's policy team, and headed up policy development in K-12 and higher education.
His research focused largely on higher education reform issues, including the college rankings systems, and efforts to improve college graduation rates.
He wrote extensively on college affordability and accountability issues, and drew particularly wide attention for a Winter 2010 essay in the journal, ''
Democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
'', on the role of the American higher education lobby in elevating student costs and obstructing efforts to improve accountability and transparency. He also wrote an in-depth profile of education historian
Diane Ravitch
Diane Silvers Ravitch (born July 1, 1938) is a historian of education, an educational policy analyst, and a research professor at New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Previously, she was a U.S. A ...
for ''
The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...
'' in 2011.
In 2012 Carey became Director of
New America's Education Policy Program, which focuses its research on improving outcomes for low-income learners and expanding public access to information. His recent research and writing has focused on the intersection of technology and higher education, including the prospects of
digital badges
Digital badges (also known as ebadges, or singularly as ebadge) are a validated indicator of accomplishment, skill, quality or interest that can be earned in various learning environments.
Origin and development
Traditional physical badges have ...
in education, and
Massive Open Online Course
A massive open online course (MOOC ) or an open online course is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the Web. In addition to traditional course materials, such as filmed lectures, readings, and problem sets, m ...
s.
Books
* Carey, K., ''
The End of College''.
Riverhead Books
Riverhead Books is an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) founded in 1994 by Susan Petersen Kennedy.
Writers published by Riverhead include Ali Sethi, Marlon James (novelist), Marlon James, Junot Díaz, George Saunders, Khaled Hosseini, Nick Hornby, ...
, 2015
* Kelly, A., and Carey, K. ''Stretching the Higher Education Dollar''. Harvard Education Press, 2013.
* Carey, K., Kelly, A., and Wildavsky, B. ''Reinventing Higher Education: The Promise of Innovation''. Harvard Education Press, 2011.
* Carey, K. and Schneider, M. ''Accountability in American Higher Education''. Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carey, Kevin
1970 births
American male bloggers
American bloggers
American male journalists
American political writers
American education writers
Journalists from California
Living people
American online journalists
People from Santa Barbara, California
Binghamton University alumni
John Glenn College of Public Affairs alumni
Writers from California
21st-century American non-fiction writers