Hesborn Wao, Senior Researcher

Hesborn Wao is a Senior Researcher in the Research Department and has been with JWB since 2010. His primary focus is JWB’s school success and school readiness priority areas. Within these areas, Hesborn is responsible for all aspects of instrument selection and evaluation for the Faith-Base Literacy/ Technology program and evaluation of the Out-of-School (OST) initiative. Other responsibilities include reviewing current program methodologies, logic models, and measurable objectives for programs classified under school readiness and school success. He serves as a member of the measurable objectives (MO) team and Institutional Review Board (IRB) committee. Hesborn’s research interests include the effects of social organizations on student outcomes, with interests including the application of mixed methods approaches to research/evaluation design, measurement of student outcomes, and secondary data analysis using advanced modeling techniques.

Prior to joining JWB, Hesborn was affiliated with several University of South Florida’s research institutes/centers. As a Visiting Research Associate at the Alliance for Applied Research in Education and Anthropology (AAREA), he managed a multidisciplinary team of researchers engaged in the evaluation of the Florida Voluntary Public School Choice program. As a Research Associate at the Institute for Instructional Research and Practice (IIRP), which administered the Florida teacher certification examination in 42 subject areas, his duties included psychometric analysis of test items, item scoring, and test report preparation. As a Graduate Assistant at the Center for Research, Evaluation, Assessment and Measurement (CREAM), he was engaged in a wide variety of research and evaluation projects. He taught and co-taught statistics and measurement courses, served as an adjunct professor of foreign language, and taught mathematics and social studies to students preparing for GED exam under the High School Equivalency program.

Hesborn began his career in education with an undergraduate degree in math education. After serving as a high school teacher and acting principal, he pursued graduate studies at the University of South Florida where he received a masters and doctorate degree in Measurement and Evaluation. He also holds a Certified Public Accountants (CPA-s3) certificate.