Leslie Grant is Assistant Professor of Education at the College of William and Mary, and teaches in the educational policy, planning, and leadership area. Her research interests focus on cross-cultural comparisons of teaching, teacher effectiveness, and assessment literacy for classroom teachers and educational leaders. Leslie currently serves on the board of directors for the Consortium for Research on Educational Assessment and Teaching Effectiveness.

James H. Stronge is president and CEO of Stronge & Associates Educational Consulting, LLC, an educational consulting company that focuses on teacher and leader effectiveness with projects throughout the United States and internationally. Additionally, he is the Heritage Professor of Education, a distinguished professorship, in the Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership Area at the College of William and Mary, in Williamsburg, Virginia.

He teaches doctoral courses within the School of Education's Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership (EPPL) Program, with a particular focus on teacher and leader effectiveness, human resource leadership, legal issues in education, and research design.

Xianxuan Xu received her Doctor of Philosophy degree from William and Mary's Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership Program. Currently she is working as the decision analytics researcher at the Virginia Department of Education. Previously she served as the senior research associate with Stronge & Associates Educational Consulting. Her research interests include teacher and principal effectiveness, professional development, and evaluation.

To date, she has authored or coauthored eight books and numerous book chapters, journal articles, and technical reports. She has presented findings of her research at leading national conferences, such as the American Educational Research Association, the University Council for Educational Administration, and the CREATE National Evaluation Institute.

Patricia Popp is State Coordinator for Education of Homeless Children and Youth in Virginia and a Clinical Associate Professor in the Curriculum and Instruction Area at the College of William and Mary. Her research interests include children and youth experiencing homelessness and other forms of mobility, students with disabilities, and teacher quality. Pat is past president of the Virginia Council for Learning Disabilities and the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY), and she currently serves on NAEHCY's committee for the LeTendre Education Fund.

Yaling Sun is Professor of Education and Director of the Curriculum and Instruction Department at Yunnan Normal University, in Yunnan Province, China. She is also a Counselor of Yunnan Provincial Government. Yaling's research interests cover areas of teacher education, schooling counseling, and curriculum and instruction. In 2007, she was awarded an Excellent Teacher of Ed.M., a national teacher education program by the National Committee for Ed.M. Education.