Heather Rose

Office hours: By appointment. Room 125 SOEB.
2026 CV

Research Interests

Economics of education; Education Policy and Governance; Quantitative methods; School finance

Education

• Ph.D., Economics, University of California, San Diego, June 2001.
• M.A., Economics, University of California, San Diego, March 1997.
• B.A., Economics, University of California, Berkeley, December 1993.
• Education Abroad Program, Universite de Pau et des Pays de L’Adour, France, 1991-1992.

Publications

Articles and Books

Note: Access to journal links will depend on your institution’s agreements with journals.

• “It is a Matter of Choice: Chronic Absenteeism in California Charter and Traditional Public Schools.” (2026). Heather Rose, Sherrie Reed, and Wendi McCaskill*, Journal of School Choice, 20(2):192-212. Winner of the 2026 Patrick Wolf International School Choice and Reform Conference Best Paper Prize.
• “All Else Equal: Charter School Attendance and College Enrollment Rates and California’s Three Systems of Higher Education.” (2025). Justin Luu*, Sherrie Reed, and Heather Rose, Journal of School Choice, 19(2), 234-254. Winner of the 2025 Patrick Wolf International School Choice and Reform Conference Best Paper Prize.
• “High School Choice and Expected College Belonging.” (2024). Heather Rose, Danielle Huddlestun*, Jacob Hibel, Susan E. Ebeler, and Kali Trzesniewski, Journal of School Choice, 18(3): 308-333. Winner of the 2024 Patrick Wolf International School Choice and Reform Conference Best Paper Prize.
• “The Impact of Large Revenue Infusions on Teacher Salaries in High-Poverty Districts.” (2023). Dylan Hawksworth-Lutzow* and Heather Rose, Journal of Education Finance, 49(2): 222-244.
• “Student-Teacher Ethnoracial Matching at Charter and Traditional Public Schools.” (2023). Audrey Boochever* and Heather Rose, Journal of School Choice, 17(3): 324-351. Winner of the 2023 Patrick Wolf International School Choice and Reform Conference Best Paper Prize.
• “School District Revenue and Student Poverty in California: A Decade through the Great Recession and School Finance Reform.” (2022). Heather Rose, Journal of Education Finance, 47(2): 296-323.
• “Serving the Underserved? Student Characteristics and Staffing Patterns in California Charter Schools.” (2020). Sherrie Reed and Heather Rose, Journal of School Choice, 14(2):190-227. Second Place for the 2020 Patrick Wolf International School Choice and Reform Conference Best Paper Prize.   
• “Lessons in Charter School Accountability: Evidence from California.” (2018). Sherrie Reed* and Heather Rose, Journal of School Choice, 12(3):355-381. Winner of the 2018 Fordham Institute Prize for Best Paper at the International School Choice and Reform Conference.
• “Charter School Spending and Saving in California.” (2015). Sherrie Reed* and Heather Rose, Journal of School Choice, 9(3):407-445.  Winner of the 2015 Fordham Institute Prizes for Best Paper Written by Junior Researchers and the Second-best Paper Overall at the International School Choice and Reform Conference.
• California School District Revenue and Student Poverty: Moving Toward a Weighted Pupil Funding Formula. (2013). Heather Rose and Margaret Weston*, Public Policy Institute of California. 
• “Moving Toward a Coherent School Finance System.” (2013).  Heather Rose, Leadership, 42(5):12-15.
• “Financing California’s Public Schools:  Toward a Weighted Student Formula,” in David Plank, ed., Getting Down to Facts:  Five Years Later. (May 2012).  Heather Rose, Policy Analysis for California Education, Stanford, California.
• Funding Formulas for California Schools IV: An Analysis of Governor Brown’s Weighted Pupil Funding Formula, May Budget Revision. (2012).  Heather Rose, Jon Sonstelie, and Margaret Weston*, Public Policy Institute of California.
• Funding Formulas for California Schools III: An Analysis of Governor Brown’s Weighted Pupil Funding Formula. (2012).  Heather Rose, Jon Sonstelie, and Margaret Weston*, Public Policy Institute of California. 
• “Sleepiness, fatigue, and risk of obstructive sleep apnea using the STOP-BANG questionnaire in multiple sclerosis: a pilot study.” (2012). Robert A. Dias, Kimberly A. Hardin, Heather Rose, Mark A. Agius, Michelle L. Apperson, and Steven D. Brass, Sleep and Breathing, 16(4):  1255-1265.
• Pathways for School Finance in California. (2010).  Heather Rose, Jon Sonstelie, and Margaret Weston*, Public Policy Institute of California.
• “School Board Politics, School District Size, and the Bargaining Power of Teachers’ Unions.” (2010).  Heather Rose and Jon Sonstelie, Journal of Urban Economics, 67(3):438-450.
• “A Portrait of Underrepresented Minorities at the University of California 1994-2008”, in Eric Grodsky and Michal Kurlaender, eds., Equal Opportunity in Higher Education:  The Past and Future of California’s Proposition 209. (2010). Tongshan Chang and Heather Rose, Harvard Education Press.
• California School Finance Revenue Manual. (2009).  Margaret Weston*, Jon Sonstelie, and Heather Rose, Public Policy Institute of California.
• “An Analysis of Professional Judgments.” (2008).  Heather Rose and Jon Sonstelie, Education Finance and Policy, 3(2):151-164.
• Funding Formulas for California Schools II: An Analysis of a Proposal by the Governor’s Committee on Education Excellence. (2008). Ray Reinhard, Heather Rose, Ria Sengupta, and Jon Sonstelie, Public Policy Institute of California.
• Funding Formulas for California Schools: Simulations and Supporting Data. (2008). Heather Rose, Ria Sengupta, Jon Sonstelie, and Ray Reinhard, Public Policy Institute of California.
• Teacher Compensation and Local Labor Market Conditions in California: Implications for School Funding. (2007). Heather Rose and Ria Sengupta, Public Policy Institute of California.
• “Do Test Score Gains Explain Labor Market Outcomes?” (2006). Heather Rose, Economics of Education Review, 25(4): 430-446.
• School Resources and Academic Standards in California: Lessons from the Schoolhouse. (2006). Heather Rose, Jon Sonstelie, and Ray Reinhard, Public Policy Institute of California.
• “The Effect of Affirmative Action Programs:  Evidence from the University of California at San Diego.” (2005). Heather Rose, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 27(3): 263-289.
• “Has Curriculum Closed the Test Score Gap in Math?” (2004). Heather Rose, Topics in Economic Analysis & Policy, 4(1): Article 12.
• School Budgets and Student Achievement in California: The Principal’s Perspective. (2004). Heather Rose, Jon Sonstelie, and Peter Richardson, Public Policy Institute of California.
• “The Effect of High School Courses on Earnings.” (2004). Heather Rose and Julian Betts, Review of Economics and Statistics, 86(2): 497-513.
• High Expectations, Modest Means: The Challenge Facing California’s Public Schools. (2003). Heather Rose, Jon Sonstelie, Ray Reinhard, and Sharmaine Heng, Public Policy Institute of California.
• Math Matters: The Links Between High School Curriculum, College Graduation, and Earnings. (2001). Heather Rose and Julian Betts, Public Policy Institute of California.
• “The Concept of Adequacy and School Finance,” in Jon Sonstelie and Peter Richardson, eds., School Finance and California’s Master Plan for Education. (2001). Heather Rose, Public Policy Institute of California.

Op Eds, Blog Posts, and Policy Briefs

• “Prosperity or Hardship: Equity-Driven Education Funding in the Era of COVID-19.” (2020). Patti F. Herrera* and Heather Rose, UC Davis Center for Poverty Research Policy Brief, 8(10).
• “Do Charter Schools Spend Revenue Differently than Traditional Public Schools?” (October 27, 2015), Sherrie Reed* and Heather Rose, Policy Analysis for California Education Blog.
• “California’s School Finance Reforms Target More Funding to Poor Students.” (2013). Heather Rose and Margaret Weston*, UC Davis Center for Poverty Research Policy Brief, 2(2).
• “Spending Roadblock: Base School Funding on Costs and Needs, Not Failed Formulas.” (February 19, 2005). Heather Rose, The Riverside Press-Enterprise.
• “Learning Lesson of Ballot Box Budgeting.” (October 2, 2003). Heather Rose, The Sacramento Bee.

Limited Distribution Reports

• “Earnings Gains from a College Education in California” in Overview of Access and Affordability at UC Davis, the Final Report of the UC Davis Study Group on Access and Affordability, Office of the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor at UC Davis, 2014.
• “The State of Local Government Pensions:  A Preliminary Inquiry.” (2012).  Tracy M. Gordon, Heather Rose, and Ilana Fischer, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cambridge, MA
• “Potential Modifications to the Concentration Factor in the Governor’s School Finance Formula.” (2012). Heather Rose and Aaron Smith. Prepared for the California Department of Finance.

Media

• PPIC School Finance Model: Interactive Excel Program, 2010-11 Data, and Instruction Manual, Version 4.2. (2012).  Heather Rose, Jon Sonstelie, and Margaret Weston, Public Policy Institute of California.
• Simulation Model for California School District Funding Formulas: Interactive Excel Program 2004-05 Data, and Instruction Manual, Version 2.3. (2008).  Heather Rose, Jon Sonstelie, Ray Reinhard, and Ria Sengupta, Public Policy Institute of California.

Professional Experience

• Full Professor, School of Education, University of California, Davis, 2025 – Present.
• Adjunct Fellow, Public Policy Institute of California, 2008 – Present.
• Associate Professor, School of Education, University of California, Davis, 2011 – 2025.
• Assistant Professor, School of Education, University of California, Davis, 2008 – 2011.
• Research Fellow, Public Policy Institute of California, 2000 – 2007.
• Visiting Lecturer, University of California, Santa Barbara, Fall 2000.
• Dissertation Fellow, Public Policy Institute of California, 1998 – 2000.

Courses Taught at UC Davis

• EDU 120:  Philosophical & Social Foundations of Education (Undergraduate)
• ARE 142:  Personal Finance (Undergraduate)
• EDU 204A: Quantitative Methods in Educational Research:  Analysis of Correlation and Regression (Ph.D.)
• EDU 229:  Education Finance Policy (Ph.D.)
• EDU 284B:  Formulating and Influencing Policy – CANDEL (Ed.D.)
• EDU 285A:  Educational Finance, Human Resources, and Law: Human and Financial Assets: Allocations and Budgets (Ph.D.)
• EDU 292:  Advanced Quantitative Methods in Program Evaluation and Policy Analysis (Ph.D.)

Service

• UC Davis, School of Education Faculty Executive Committee, Chair, 2025 – 2026.
• UC Davis Committee on Planning and Budget, Member (2018 – 2023 and 2025-Present) and Chair (2021-2023).
• UC Systemwide Committee on Planning and Budget, Member 2021 – 2023.
• UC Education Abroad Program Advisory Committee and Finance Subcommittee Member, 2021 – 2023.
• UC Davis Representative Assembly, Secretary, 2021 – 2023.