Kristen L. McMaster

Kristen L. McMaster, PhD, is a professor of special education and the Guy Bond Chair of Reading in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Minnesota, where she has served on the faculty since the early 2000s. Her research focuses on creating conditions for effective response to intervention, developing literacy-related assessments and interventions, and supporting teachers’ use of data-based decision making and intensive, individualized instruction for students at risk and students with disabilities. She is a former special education teacher.

McMaster holds a PhD in Special Education from Vanderbilt University, as well as a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Vanderbilt’s Peabody College of education and human development. She is a coauthor of Assessing Language and Literacy with Bilingual Students: Practices to Support English Learners, which provides guidance on assessment practices for emergent bilinguals in K–6 and beyond. In 2024, Vanderbilt Peabody College recognized her contributions to special education and literacy research with its Distinguished Alumna Award.