His research and teaching interests include the economics of education, education policy analysis, and applied quantitative methods for causal inference, with his primary work focusing on efforts to improve educator and organizational effectiveness in K–12 urban public schools. He has published on topics including teacher labor markets, coaching and professional development, teacher evaluation systems, teacher-parent communication, school working conditions and social-emotional skills. He is the recipient of the William T. Grant Scholars Award, the Palmer O. Johnson Memorial Award, and the Spencer Dissertation Fellowship. Prior to earning his doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Kraft taught middle and high school humanities in Oakland and Berkeley, California.