Ratledge joined MDRC in 2012. As a research associate in the Postsecondary Education policy area, she works closely with community colleges, technical colleges, and open- and broad-access institutions to implement and evaluate programs aimed at improving graduation rates. Her primary areas of focus are student support programs, developmental (remedial) education, and financial aid innovations. She also leads MDRC’s rural higher education work. Most recently, she fundraised for and launched the randomized controlled trial of Montana 10, a multifaceted student support program serving seven Montana public institutions including small rural colleges. She has also served as the project manager for both the Detroit Promise Path Evaluation and the ASAP Demonstration in Ohio.
Ratledge has written MDRC reports for several studies and regularly presents at academic, practitioner, and policy conferences. She has published in The Hill, Higher Ed Dive, Spotlight on Poverty, and Community College Daily. She has also published peer-reviewed articles in the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness and the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. Ratledge holds a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Brown University.
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