Warren Simmons is the director of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, a national educational research and support organization based at Brown University. Previously, he was executive director of the Philadelphia Education Fund, a nonprofit organization that collaborates with the School District of Philadelphia and local organizations to provide technical assistance and support for school reform. He has worked on numerous national and local school reform initiatives, with a particular focus on improving the education of disadvantaged students. He has a Ph.D. in psychology from Cornell University (1979).

Charlene G. Tucker is the coordinator of the high school student assessment unit for the Connecticut State Department of Education. Previously, she served in the program evaluation unit, where she conducted the evaluations for Title I. She has an Ed.D. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (1991).