Frederick M. Hess is director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. An educator, political scientist, and author, he studies K-12 and higher education issues. His books include The Cage-Busting Teacher (Harvard Education Press, 2015), Cage-Busting Leadership (Harvard Education Press, 2013), Breakthrough Leadership in the Digital Age (Corwin, 2013), The Same Thing Over and Over (Harvard University Press, 2013), Education Unbound (ASCD, 2010), Common Sense School Reform (Palgrave Macmillan, 2006), Revolution at the Margins (Brookings Institution Press, 2002), and Spinning Wheels (Brookings Institution Press, 1998). He is also the author of the popular Education Week blog Rick Hess Straight Up and is a regular contributor to The Hill and National Review Online. Hess's work has appeared in scholarly and popular outlets such as Teachers College Record, Harvard Education Review, Social Science Quarterly, Urban Affairs Review, American Politics Quarterly, Chronicle of Higher Education, Phi Delta Kappan, Educational Leadership, U.S. News & World Report, USA Today, Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and National Affairs. His edited volumes include Educational Entrepreneurship: Realities, Challenges, Opportunities (Harvard Education Press, 2006), The Future of Educational Entrepreneurship: Possibilities for School Reform (Harvard Education Press, 2008), and Private Enterprise and Public Education (Teachers College Press, 2013). Hess serves as executive editor of Education Next, as lead faculty member for the Rice Education Entrepreneurship Program, and on the review board for the Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools. He also serves on the boards of directors of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers and 4.0 Schools. A former high school social studies teacher, he teaches or has taught at the University of Virginia, University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown University, Rice University, and Harvard University.

Michael Q. McShane is director of education policy at the Show-Me Institute and an adjunct fellow in education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. He is the author of Education and Opportunity (AEI Press 2014). He edited New and Better Schools (Rowman and Littlefield, 2015) and coedited Teacher Quality 2.0 (Harvard Education Press, 2014) and Common Core Meets Education Reform (Teachers College Press, 2013). His commentary has been published in outlets such as USA Today, Washington Post, and Huffington Post. He has also been featured in education-specific outlets including Teachers College Commentary, Education Week, Phi Delta Kappan, and Education Next. His academic and policy work has been published in Education Finance and Policy, Journal of School Choice, National Affairs, and numerous white papers. He is a former high school teacher.