A graduate of the University of Chicago, Koch was credited with research work that improved the accuracy of investigations into sibling order.

Born in Blue Island, Illinois, Koch had an interest in the piano from the age of eight, and she continued to play through her college years.

The next year, Ellis took a position at Western Reserve University as director of its adult education department.

Koch considered following Ellis, but she accepted a post as an associate professor at the University of Chicago because she had family in the area.

Child development literature would later note that Koch's work "refined research in the area of sibship variables by a precision of at least one significant figure.

However, Vanderburg criticized Koch's work because she did not use blood typing to definitively determine whether her subjects were fraternal or identical twins.

[2] In a 1971 interview, a retired Koch said that the situation for women in academia had improved since her days as a student and early-career academic.