Jeffrey Nellhaus

Organization/Institution
About Me (Bio)
Jeffrey Nellhaus joined Achieve in 2011 as the Director, PARCC Assessment.

Before joining Achieve, Jeff spent nearly 25 years with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education where he held the positions of Deputy Commissioner, Acting Commissioner, and Associate Commissioner for Curriculum and Assessment. While at the MA DESE, Jeff directed the design, development and implementation of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), and the development of the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, which include the Common Core State Standards. For his work on MCAS he was awarded the Manuel Carballo Governor’s Award for Excellence in Public Service.

Jeff has served on the National Validity Studies Panel to National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) and on Technical Advisory Committees for the states of Maine, Kentucky and Rhode Island. He has also served on the Technical Advisory Committee on Standard Setting for NAEP and on the Growth Model Peer Review Panel for the U.S. Department of Education.

Prior to joining the Massachusetts Department of Education, Jeff was a Peace Corps Volunteer in India, taught chemistry and mathematics in a public high school in Vermont, and directed a federally-funded educational program in Thailand for Cambodian and Laotian refugees preparing to resettle in the U.S.

Jeff holds a bachelor's in Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts, a master's in Science Teaching from Antioch Graduate School of Education, and an Ed.M. in Administration, Policy and Planning from Harvard Graduate School of Education.