Kalena Cortes (kcortes@tamu.edu) is an Associate Professor at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). Her research focuses on issues of equity and access, in particular, identifying educational policies that help disadvantaged students at the K-12 and postsecondary levels. Her recent work includes the effects of double-dose algebra and course scheduling policies on student achievement, affirmative action policies in higher education, and the effect of legal status on college enrollment of immigrant youth. Cortes’ research has been funded by the Spencer Foundation, American Educational Research Association, Greater Texas Foundation, and the Institute of Education Sciences U.S. Department of Education. She received her Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.