Diane August, Ph.D., is a managing researcher at American Institutes for Research (AIR) and is responsible for directing the English language learner (ELL) work for the Education Program. Her area of expertise is the development of science and literacy in second-language learners in Grades PK–12. Currently, she is assisting several states and districts in implementing the Common Core State Standards for ELLs. Prior to her position at AIR, Dr. August was a senior research scientist at the Center for Applied Linguistics, where she served as principal investigator for a 10-year National Institute of Child Health and Human Development program project that investigated the development of literacy in ELLs; she also was co-principal investigator at the National Research and Development Center for English Language Learners funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). In addition, she was co-principal investigator on two IES–funded studies; the first focused on developing a comprehension assessment for ELLs, and the second focused on implementing and evaluating bilingual and English as a Second Language programs for ELLs. She also served as project director for the National Literacy Panel on Language Minority Children and Youth. Previously, she was a senior program officer at the National Academy of Sciences, where she was study director for the Committee on Developing a Research Agenda on the Education of Limited- English-Proficient and Bilingual Students. Dr. August has worked as a teacher, school administrator, legislative assistant, grants officer for the Carnegie Corporation, and director of education for the Children’s Defense Fund. She received her Ph.D. in education from Stanford University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in psychology, also at Stanford. She has published widely in journals and books.

Kenji Hakuta is Professor of Education at Stanford University and Co-chair of the Common Core State Standards National Initiative. An experimental psycholinguist by training, he is best known for his work in the areas of bilingualism and the acquisition of English in immigrant students. He is the author of numerous research papers and books, including Mirror of Language: The Debate on Bilingualism and In Other Words: The Science and Psychology of Second Language Acquisition. He chaired a National Academy of Sciences report Improving Schooling for Language-Minority Children, and co-edited a book on affirmative action in higher education, Compelling Interest: Examining the Evidence on Racial Dynamics in Higher Education