Research Interests and Expertise

Christy Murray has more than 20 years of experience serving as principal investigator (PI), co-PI, or director of numerous educational research and technical assistance projects at the federal and local levels. Murray served as the PI and project director of Middle School Matters, an education reform initiative founded by the George W. Bush Institute and implemented at MCPER. The initiative focused on identifying evidence-based practices deemed essential for success in the middle grades, supporting middle schools as they implemented these practices, and developing and disseminating resources that translated research to practice. From 2005 to 2012, Murray served as the deputy director of the Center on Instruction’s Special Education and Response to Intervention Strand. During this time, she provided technical assistance to regional comprehensive centers and state departments of education, as well as developed products, publications, and professional development materials. Prior to joining MCPER, Murray was an elementary classroom teacher in the Austin area.

As communications director, Murray oversees the development of products and events that translate research to practice and the dissemination of education research findings to a diverse group of stakeholders.

Research Projects and Grants

  • Effectiveness of Leveled Literacy Intervention Intermediate for Third- and Fourth-Grade Students With Reading Difficulties or Disabilities, 2021–2026
  • Title III Multilingual Outreach, 2021–2023
  • Middle School Matters: Promoting Research- and Evidence-Based Practices (MSM-PREP), 2017–2022
  • Middle School Matters, George W. Bush Institute, 2012–2016

Representative Publications

  • Stevens, E. A., Murray, C. S., Scammacca, N., Haager, D., & Vaughn, S. (2022). Middle school matters: examining the effects of a schoolwide professional development model to improve reading comprehension. Reading and Writing, 35, 1839–1864. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-022-10271-9
  • Murray, C. S., Stevens, E. A., & Vaughn, S. (2022). Teachers’ text use in middle school content-area classrooms. Reading and Writing, 35, 177–197. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-021-10177-y
  • Wanzek, J., Vaughn, S., Scammacca, N. K., Metz, K., Murray, C. S., Roberts, G., & Danielson, L. (2013). Extensive reading interventions for students with reading difficulties after grade 3. Review of Educational Research, 83(2), 163–195. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654313477212
  • Vaughn, S., Wanzek, J., Murray, C. S., Scammacca, N., Linan-Thompson, S., & Woodruff, A. L. (2009). Response to early reading intervention examining higher and lower responders. Exceptional Children, 75(2), 165–183.
  • Boardman, A. G., Roberts, G., Vaughn, S., Wexler, J., Murray, C. S., & Kosanovich, M. (2008). Effective instruction for adolescent struggling readers: A practice brief. RMC Research, Center on Instruction.
  • Vaughn, S., Wanzek, J., Murray, C. S., & Roberts, G. (2012). Intensive interventions for students struggling in reading and mathematics: A practice guide. RMC Research, Center on Instruction.
  • Murray, C. S., Coleman, M. A., Vaughn, S., Wanzek, J., & Roberts, G. (2012). Designing and delivering intensive interventions: A teacher’s toolkit. RMC Research, Center on Instruction.
  • Capin, P., Hall, C., Stevens, E. A., Steinle, P. K., & Murray, C. S. (2022). Evidence-based reading instruction for secondary students with reading difficulties within multitiered systems of support. Teaching Exceptional Children. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00400599221079643