Karin Hess

Dr. Karin Hess, EdD, is the founder and president of Educational Research in Action. A former classroom teacher, school administrator, state director of gifted education, and K–12 curriculum director, she has more than 40 years of experience in curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Hess is internationally recognized for her work applying cognitive rigor, Depth of Knowledge, and learning progressions to curriculum and assessment design, and is the author of the Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix.

Her books include Rigor by Design, Not Chance: Deeper Thinking Through Actionable Instruction and Assessment (2023), A Local Assessment Toolkit to Promote Deeper Learning (2018), and Applying Depth of Knowledge and Cognitive Rigor: An Educator’s Guide to Supporting Deeper Learning (2025). She has also coauthored Deeper Competency-Based Learning and contributed to Fundamentals of Literacy Instruction and Assessment, Pre-K–6.