Allison Gandhi

Allison Gruner Gandhi oversees project execution, human capital resource allocation, and business development for portfolios of work related to instructional practice and intervention from early childhood through high school, including supports for students with disabilities and English learners and best practices for educator preparation and performance. Dr. Gandhi has extensive knowledge about special education policy and practice, especially around identifying and communicating about evidence-based practices to support improved outcomes for students with disabilities.

Currently, Dr. Gandhi is the deputy director for a large-scale, national impact evaluation of multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) in reading, funded by the Institute for Education Sciences (IES). She also served as the principal investigator on a recent IES-funded grant to develop and validate a rubric to measure implementation of integrated MTSS. 

During her career, Dr. Gandhi has led multiple district special education comprehensive review projects, state-level program evaluations, and federal research grants. Dr. Gandhi led the knowledge development work for the Office of Special Education Programs-funded National Center on Response to Intervention and for the first iteration of the National Center on Intensive Intervention. In this role, she launched industry-leading tools charts that review and rate the technical rigor of screening tools, academic and behavioral progress monitoring tools, and academic and behavioral interventions. 

Dr. Gandhi has published and presented extensively on the topic of MTSS and evidence-based practices in special education.