Past events

The Michigan Consortium for Educational Research (MCER) will present early impact analyses for the first graduating cohort to experience the Michigan Merit Curriculum (MMC). This first-look at results will address what has happened to student achievement, graduation and dropout rates, and college enrollment and persistence as a result of MMC implementation. In addition, representatives from the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) and the Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI) will discuss Michigan's efforts to adopt new College and Career Ready standards.

Sean F. Reardon, Professor of Education, Stanford University Income inequality among the families of school-age children in the US has grown sharply in the last 40 years. In this talk Dr. Reardon will describe his research findings from three studies that examine the relationship of income and income inequality to educational outcomes. The first focuses on trends in the 'income achievement gap' (the test score gap between children from high- and low-income families) over the last 50 years, using data from 13 nationally representative studies conducted between 1959-2009.

Free and open to the public. Join the conversation: #fordschoolspellings Lecture by the Honorable Margaret Spellings, Former U.S. Secretary of Education (2005-2009) Abstract: The seminal education law known as No Child Left Behind put critical pressure on our schools to dramatically improve education in America. Through accountability, testing, and consequences for failure, a more targeted focus on our neediest students has translated into measurable success for them.

Sponsored by the Education Policy Initiative (EPI) at the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP). EPI is a program of coordinated activities designed to bring the latest academic knowledge to issues of education policy. Generous support provided by Charles H.

Abstract We examine the theoretical and practical implications of ranking teachers according to a one dimensional value-added metric when teacher effectiveness is multi-dimensional. In particular, we consider the cases in which teachers teach multiple subjects or multiple student types. We outline the assumptions under which a standard value-added estimator correctly ranks teachers according to their social value. We demonstrate that these assumptions fail to hold empirically.

Free and open to the public. Abstract In 2006, with the goal of increasing student achievement, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) Board of Education passed policies related to effective teachers and school administrators. The leadership of the District put the Board's work in action and made increasing staff effectiveness the focus of their work.

Free and open to the public. Sandwiches and soda provided. Sponsored by the Education Policy Initiative (EPI) at the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP). EPI is a program of coordinated activities designed to bring the latest academic knowledge to issues of education policy. Generous support provided by Charles H. and Susan Gessner. About the speaker Stephanie Jones is an assistant professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Education Policy Initiative (EPI) at the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP). EPI is a program of coordinated activities designed to bring the latest academic knowledge to issues of education policy. Generous support provided by Charles H. and Susan Gessner. Abstract School accountability systems are intended to lead schools to educate children more efficiently and raise student performance.

Free and open to the public. Abstract: The term 'undermatch' describes the problem of students failing to apply to the most selective colleges they qualify for. There is evidence that students who undermatch significantly reduce their chances of graduating. Because undermatching is substantially more prevalent among lower-income, minority, and first generation students, it raises immediate questions of fairness as well of resource waste.

Free and open to the public. Abstract: The U.S. high school graduation rate rose markedly during the first 70 years of the 20th century. This contributed to the human capital development that fueled economic growth and increases in standards of living. Since 1970, the U.S. high school graduation rate has stagnated, while those of other industrialized nations have risen. Do the patterns differ by gender, race, or ethnicity? Why should we care about these trends and patterns? Why did they occur?

Abstract Over the past two decades, many urban school districts have restructured large, traditional high schools into smaller learning communities. The idea behind this movement is that small schools provide a more personalized learning environment that allows teachers to more effectively address the multi-faceted needs of disadvantaged students. Despite mixed evidence on the efficacy of such reforms in practice, Detroit and other high-poverty districts have pressed forward with the creation of smaller high schools.

For-profit colleges are under fire. Critics point to students' low earnings and high debt loads as evidence that these schools do not provide a quality education. Defenders of the sector note that the schools serve a population of low-skilled, low-income students that traditional colleges ignore. Congress is now considering legislation that would bar from the federal aid programs any schools whose graduates' earnings fall below a minimum threshold.

PANELISTS: Susan Dynarski Associate Professor of Education, School of Education; Associate Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy | Michael Flanagan Superintendent of Public Instruction, Michigan Department of Education | Brian Rowan Burke A. Hinsdale Collegiate Professor, School of Education; Research Professor, Institute for Social Research | Tyrone Winfrey Director, U-M Office of Undergraduate Admissions - Detroit Admissions Office and Vice-President, Detroit Board of Education | Deborah Loewenberg Ball Dean of the School of Education, will be moderating the panel discussion

Matthew Springer, Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Education, Director of the National Center on Performance Incentives Vanderbilt University. The Project on Incentives in Teaching (POINT) experiment was a three-year experimental study of middle school math teachers and their students and schools. The signature activity of the POINT experiment was the study of the effects on student outcomes of paying teachers bonuses of up to $15,000 per year on the basis of student test-score gains.

ABSTRACT: Politicians tend to underestimate and to undervalue societal benefits that come far in the future, and this is particularly problematic with schools. Even though the economic benefits of improving growth through better schools far exceed the benefits from short run macro policies, the latter receives much more attention. In this talk, the returns to improved schools are described, and these returns are related to a variety of possible school reform policies. Eric Hanushek is the Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University.

Free and open to the public. For more information call (734) 647-4091. Roland Fryer is the Robert M.

In 2004, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm charged the Lieutenant Governor's Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth with identifying strategies to improve postsecondary attainment and completion in Michigan.

Abstract In developing countries, rising incomes, increased demand for more skilled labor, and government investments of considerable resources on building and equipping schools and paying teachers have contributed to some global convergence in enrollment rates and completed years of schooling but substantial education gaps persist, such as between rural and urban households and also between males and females, in some settings. To address these gaps, some governments have introduced school vouchers or cash transfers programs that are targeted to disadvantaged children.

David Deming will present his study of the implementation of an open enrollment public school choice plan in Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district (CMS) in 2002. Students were guaranteed admission to their home school but could apply to as many as 3 other public schools in the district. Where demand for slots exceeded supply, assignment was determined by randomized lottery. Deming finds significant benefits of school choice for students who come from neighborhoods that are assigned to very low performing schools.

Abstract As a new administration takes the reins of the federal education research enterprise, the former director of federal education research, evaluation, and statistics will reflect on his experience in leading a research agency within the Bush administration that maintained its independence and integrity, and will offer his thoughts on what must be done to strengthen education research further so as to provide practitioners and policymakers with the knowledge to improve education outcomes substantially.

'Assessed by a Teacher Like Me: Race, Gender, and Subjective Evaluations.' Amine Ouazad, Assistant Professor of Economics and Political Science, INSEAD. 3rd Floor Seminar Room, Weill Hall, 735 South State Street. See the paper.

Dr. Pianta is Dean of the Curry School of Education, as well as the Novartis Professor of Education and Director of the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning, University of Virginia. A former special education teacher, Dr. Pianta's research focuses on investigating the effects of schooling on children's social and academic outcomes and on improving school and classroom experiences through teachers' professional development. He has been involved in developing observational assessments of classrooms and observationally-based systems for professional development. Dr.

Abstract: Teacher Preparation and Student Achievement: This research project describes the recent changes in the routes into teaching in New York City. It assesses the effects of these changes on the distribution of teachers across schools and the academic achievement of students. It then looks more closely at the preparation of teachers in the district and estimates the effects of characteristics of this preparation on teachers' value-added to student achievement in their first two years of teaching.

Abstract: The challenges facing K-12 public education systems in Michigan and throughout the U.S. are formidable, and seem to grow more complex by the day. Issues related to globalization, federal oversight through the No Child Left Behind law, unfunded state mandates, aging infrastructure, and many more, are putting pressure on K-12 public school systems even while calls to improve student achievement and public education accountability grow from all quarters.

Abstract: Community colleges today enroll over one-half of all college students nationwide or nearly 12 million students. And yet, fewer than 40% of those who start at a public two-year college earn any type of degree within six years. Even among those students who intend to complete a degree, only about one-third do so within six years.

OverviewThe goal of this conference is to provide school district leaders and EPIresearchers an opportunity to exchange ideas and to brainstorm about potential collaborations. Researchers will present case studies of academic studies that have been conducted in collaboration with school districts, with a special focus on the research process.

Abstract: We analyze all but a few of the 47 charter schools operating in New York City in 2005-06. The schools tend to locate in disadvantaged neighborhoods and serve students who are substantially poorer than the average public school student in New York City. The schools also attract black applicants to an unusual degree, not only relative to New York City but also relative to the traditional public schools from which they draw.

Abstract: Accountability programs, including the one implemented by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, operate under the assumption that schools are inefficient -- that is, that schools can provide higher quality education without investing additional resources. These programs seek to make schools more efficient by using incentives. The state of North Carolina currently operates two independent incentive systems for public schools.