Tran Dang Keys is a Senior Research Associate with the Region 15 Comprehensive Center and the Regional Educational Laboratory West at WestEd. Keys has over 20 years of experience working with state education agencies, school districts, and other education organizations to improve outcomes for children. She conducts mixed-methods program evaluations and research and provides analytic coaching and support to educators with the aim of increasing the use of data and evidence in education decision-making that informs policy and practice.
Keys was formerly the Executive Director of Research and Evaluation for the Santa Ana Unified School District in Southern California. There, she led a team responsible for overseeing districtwide assessments, data, and accountability and for using program evaluation for continuous improvement.
She has published in Educational Assessment, Child Development, and Contemporary Educational Psychology and has served as a What Works Clearinghouse–certified reviewer of group designs (randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental designs) since 2012. Keys received her PhD in Education from the University of California, Irvine.