Publication

Lessons learned: Urban charter schools demonstrate potential to improve student performance

Feb 22, 2024

While the merits of charter schools vs. traditional public schools are well-documented, some charter schools in urban areas can dramatically improve student achievement, especially among disadvantaged students, says a University of Michigan...

Lessons learned: Urban charter schools demonstrate potential to improve student performance

Publication

Weiland addresses Michigan's $107M preschool education investment

Dec 11, 2023

Christina Weiland, faculty co-director of the Education Policy Initiative, has studied pre-K programs around the country. The state of Michigan will spend an additional $107M in its 2023-2024 budget on pre-K, hoping to increase the number of...

Weiland addresses Michigan's $107M preschool education investment

Publication

U-M education researchers present evidence-based findings and analysis to inform Michigan’s Pre-K-for-All goals

Dec 6, 2023

Achieving Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s aim of universal Pre-K, made in her State of the State address in January 2023, will require building upon its established programs and making some adjustments to the state’s education system. A...

U-M education researchers present evidence-based findings and analysis to inform Michigan’s Pre-K-for-All goals

Publication

Jacob explores barriers to Teacher Loan Forgiveness program

Jul 10, 2023

The Biden Administration is preparing a new set of student loan debt-relief measures in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s rejection of its previous, ambitious plan, which would have eliminated between $10,000 and $20,000 per student. A number of...

Jacob's study on teacher loan forgiveness cited in Chalkbeat

Publication

Learning from lottery-based evaluations of early education programs

Apr 19, 2023

The value of Pre-K education has been widely acknowledged through decades of research. However, much of that research has come from studying older and often smaller programs than those currently being implemented across the country. To determine how...

Annie Taylor on the value of long-term research partnerships

Publication

EPI brief looks at "Pre-k boost"

Jan 31, 2023

Children who attend a prekindergarten (Pre-K) program generally score higher on academic, social-emotional, and cognitive assessments at the start of kindergarten than children who do not. However, Pre-K nonattenders typically catch up to Pre-K...

Publication

Michigan transitional kindergarten widely available, supported by administrators and parents

Jan 26, 2023

Expanding access to high-quality early education has been a bipartisan goal of Michigan policymakers for at least a decade. New findings by the University of Michigan Education Policy Initiative provide the first systematic description of...

Publication

Overcoming data collection challenges in ECE research

Jan 24, 2023

Rigorous research in early care and education requires high-quality data, often gathered through intensive in-person fieldwork. The COVID-19 pandemic upended the ECE sector, making it much more challenging to safely and successfully collect data in...

Overcoming data collection challenges in ECE research

Publication

Groundbreaking data from College and Beyond II help researchers examine diverse college experiences

Jan 10, 2023

Researchers have known for decades that attending college is associated with wide-ranging benefits to individuals and society. What is not entirely clear are the mechanisms that connect these beneficial outcomes with the undergraduate experience....

Groundbreaking data from College and Beyond II help researchers examine diverse college experiences

Publication

Christina Weiland on identifying inequities and directions forward in mixed-delivery Pre-K systems

Dec 8, 2022

“Almost every state with a public pre-K program uses a mixed-delivery approach, with some classrooms in public schools and others in community-based organizations (CBOs),” write Education Policy Initiative faculty co-director Christina Weiland, and...

Seattle Times endorses Weiland pre-K for all plan in Washington state

Publication

Income, segregated schools drive Black-white education gaps, study finds

Oct 19, 2022

Given the same levels of family, school, and neighborhood hardship, Black students would be more likely than their white classmates to complete high school and attend college—reversing current disparities, according to new research from the...

Income, segregated schools drive Black-white education gaps, study finds

Publication

COVID-19 remote learning policy: public health or political preference?

Oct 16, 2022

A new study by Ford School professor Brian Jacob looks into whether decisions about extending virtual learning were led more by political preference or public health guidance. The working paper, Assessing School District Decision-Making: Evidence...

Publication

Stange research quantifies “brain drain”

Sep 23, 2022

Many states invest heavily in their institutions of higher education only to see graduates leave for employment opportunities. To better understand that dynamic, Ford School Professor Kevin Stange and his colleagues developed a new measure of labor...

Stange research quantifies “brain drain”

Publication

Stange examines data bias caused by college graduates' out-of-state migration

Sep 7, 2022

When examining the effect on the labor market of post-secondary education in a particular state, researchers often use administrative outcome data – statewide statistics that look at university graduates and the effect on their employment. Yet when...

Stange examines data bias caused by college graduates' out-of-state migration

Publication

EPI studies Flint water crisis effects on academic outcomes

May 19, 2022

Math achievement for school-age children in Flint decreased and the proportion of children with special needs increased as a result of the Michigan city's water crisis during 2014-16, according to a new University of Michigan study. Those are the...

Lead in the water: What are the educational impacts on Flint students?

Publication

Investment in public schools reduces contact with criminal justice system - EPI working paper

May 10, 2022

Increased investment in public schools pays off through reductions in adult crime, a new Education Policy Initiative brief shows. The working paper, “Public School Funding, School Quality, and Adult Crime,” authored by E. Jason Baron, Joshua Hyman,...

School funding and crime report highlighted

Publication

Stange and co-authors study cost differences across fields of study at colleges and universities

Apr 29, 2022

Determining the monetary value of an education often is calculated based on what students pay in tuition and fees compared to what they earn after graduation. But, Kevin Stange, Ford School associate professor of public policy, and four other...

Stange and co-authors study cost differences across fields of study at colleges and universities

Publication

Michelmore and research team find unconditional, pre-admission free tuition policies are most effective

Apr 1, 2022

The HAIL Scholarship program was launched in 2016, with considerable input from Ford School professors Katherine Michelmore, Susan Dynarski, and Stephanie Owen about how to reach high achieving, low-income students in Michigan. A follow-up study...

Ford School’s Katherine Michelmore Senate testimony - “Assessing 25 years of the Child Tax Credit”

Publication

Working paper assesses employer perception of college majors and skills

Feb 1, 2022

What are the skills that employers expect college graduates to bring to the job? A new National Bureau of Economic Research working paper from Ford School professor Kevin Stange and doctoral candidate Shawn Martin, along with two other colleagues,...

Working paper assesses employer perception of college majors and skills

Publication

Critical tools in preschool program design maximize investments

Jan 13, 2022

As the Biden administration and early childhood advocates across the country push for universal preschool for all three- and four-year-olds, Christina Weiland, professor of education and public policy at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of...

Publication

IES Predoctoral Fellows Moffett and Wessiman, Weiland, and colleagues explore effects of pre-k classroom organization

Dec 16, 2021

What are the best ways to judge how instruction in pre-kindergarten classrooms is organized? Linkages between facets of classroom organization such as better organization of materials, smooth transitions, and clear routines are thought to make...

IES Predoctoral Fellows Moffett and Wessiman, Weiland, and colleagues explore effects of pre-k classroom organization

Publication

Earned Income Tax Credit affects intergenerational marriage and childbirth decisions, says U-M study

Dec 3, 2021

Children of Earned Income Tax Credit beneficiaries delayed marriage and first births, according to a new study co-authored by a University of Michigan professor, suggesting the cost-effectiveness of the federal program. Little has been known about...

Publication

Supporting 'Preschool for All' in Washington state

Nov 12, 2021

Policy Brief from the University of Michigan’s Education Policy Initiative outlines a vision for high-quality universal preschool in the state of Washington High-quality preschool helps prepare children for kindergarten and promotes their long-term...

Supporting 'Preschool for All' in Washington state

Publication

Michelmore and Pilkauskas find EITC boosts employment, with decreasing impact as children age

Oct 4, 2021

Existing research has largely overlooked the variation in maternal employment effects of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) depending on the age of their children. In a new study, Katherine Michelmore and Natasha Pilkauskas, both associate...

Who’s caring for the kids? The Earned Income Tax Credit and child care arrangements

Publication

Transitional kindergarten in Michigan: Impacts through elementary school and predictors of a lasting boost

Sep 29, 2021

Access to early education programs have been shown for decades to improve the educational prospects for children in kindergarten and beyond. A new type of early education program widespread in Michigan and California—transitional kindergarten...

Transitional kindergarten in Michigan: Impacts through elementary school and predictors of a lasting boost

Publication

EPI study offers deeper dive into demand for educational choices, implications for schools during pandemic

Sep 9, 2021

As school districts consider their options in light of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, a study by the Education Policy Initiative shows they need to be flexible in offering both in-person and virtual options or risk losing more enrollees. The...

EPI study offers deeper dive into demand for educational choices, implications for schools during pandemic

Publication

Weiland calls for investment in early childhood programs following pandemic

Jul 21, 2021

As the pandemic continues to drag on, those most affected continue to face adversity — including young children. According to a recent opinion piece authored by Christina Weiland, associate professor of education and faculty co-director of the...

Weiland calls for investment in early childhood programs following pandemic

Publication

Michigan’s HAIL scholarship program meaningfully changes students’ college trajectory, report shows

May 19, 2021

Research for years has shown that low-income students face unique barriers to applying to colleges, let alone being able to afford tuition and living costs. To address the concern that not enough high-achieving, low-income students were applying to...

Michigan’s HAIL scholarship program meaningfully changes students’ college trajectory, report shows

Publication

Career and technical education offers pathways for students with disabilities in Michigan

May 13, 2021

Career and Technical Education (CTE) could offer one way of bolstering educational attainment among and providing valuable job skills to students with disabilities (SWD). A new release by the Youth Policy Lab at the Ford School looks at CTE...

Career and technical education offers pathways for students with disabilities in Michigan

Publication

New EPI report provides snapshot of pandemic challenges for early childhood education providers

Mar 29, 2021

Even in a steady-funded “best case” scenario, teacher turnover, decreases in enrollment, and new safety protocols strain resources and stall quality improvements. Early childhood education (ECE) centers across the country are facing unprecedented...

Musaddiq details driving factors of school enrollment drops