Christopher R. Gareis

Chris Gareis is a professor, speaker, professional development facilitator, researcher, and writer. He was a teacher, coach, principal, and educational designer in K-12 schools during the first half of his career, and he has been a faculty member and associate dean in the William & Mary School of Education during the second half.

A self-described "pragmatic idealist," Chris aims to interweave sound theory with practical application in his writing. He speaks directly to teachers and school leaders in a way that values their knowledge, experience, and expectations for better practice. Chris is the author of numerous professional publications and co-author of four books, including "Teacher-Made Assessments: How to Connect Curriculum, Instruction, and Student Learning," which is now in its second edition (2015). His most recent publication is titled "Assessing Deeper Learning: Developing, Implementing, and Scoring Performance Tasks" (2019), which he co-authored with Doug Wren.

Chris regularly consults with and provides professional development for teachers, principals, district leaders, and policymakers in the US and abroad. As a career-long advocate for teacher professionalism, Chris aims to leverage educators’ use of balanced assessment practices in ways that value psychometric soundness, student engagement, and deeper learning outcomes.

As an educational leader and reformer, Chris espouses the principle of embracing “a wholesome discontent with the status quo” (Julie Foudy, 1996). As a presenter, he holds to advice he was given long ago by his then-six-year-old son: “Mean what you say, and have fun saying it.”