Malbert Smith, Ph.D., is nationally and internationally recognized as an educational innovator and thought leader. He is the Chairman and founder of MetaMetrics, an educational research company. His research focus has been upon promoting literacy and educational achievement of all students. Dr. Smith created the Lexile Framework for Reading which is a measurement scale that allows teachers the ability to personalize reading instruction. His Lexile scale is utilized by every major content publisher in K-12 education as well as every major test publisher.

He has published extensively on measurement issues and has served as an expert advisor to over 30 state departments of education across the nation. He has served on national and state commissions focused on literacy and educational reform. He believes passionately in public education and that literacy is a basic civil right for all children.

He maintains his academic work as a Research Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he also serves on the Board of Visitors for the School of Education. Currently, he serves on the following boards: EdTrust; the National Summer Learning Association; the North Carolina Foundation for Public School Children; and as an advisor for the National Teacher of the Year.