Laura M. Stapleton is a professor in the Quantitative Methodology: Measurement and Statistics program in the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology at the University of Maryland. She joined the faculty in Fall 2011 after being on the faculty in Psychology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and in Educational Psychology at the University of Texas, Austin. She currently serves as Department Chair and was formerly the Associate Dean for Research (2019 to 2021) and Interim Dean (2021-2022).  Prior to earning her Ph.D. in Measurement, Statistics and Evaluation from the University of Maryland in 2001, she was an economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics and, subsequently, conducted educational research at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and as Associate Director of institutional research at the University of Maryland.  She has played a critical role in educational contexts in the State of Maryland, serving as co-founder and Associate Director of the Maryland Longitudinal Data System Center, an agency of the State of Maryland, and served from 2021 to 2025 on the board of the Accountability and Implementation Board, overseeing major reform of education in the state under the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.