EPI | Education Policy Initiative

In the Media

With Michigan school bond proposals on the ballot, Jacob stresses funding challenges within districts

Oct 7, 2024 Bridge Michigan

Nearly 1 in 10 Michigan school districts have bond proposals on the ballot in the upcoming November elections. Raising awareness of the lack of funding for Michigan schools, the Ford School's Brian Jacob stated, "There is no state funding for school...

In the Media

Cohodes research on Massachusetts charter schools shows positive outcomes

Sep 16, 2024 Education Next

Research conducted by Sarah Cohodes on Massachusetts charter schools shows that "charter schools in urban areas, including Boston, do a great job boosting test scores, and the ones outside of those urban areas, tended to have no impact on test...

Cohodes research on Massachusetts charter schools shows positive outcomes

Publication

NASEM committee including EPI’s Christina Weiland urges changes to preschool curricula to improve equity and support high-quality early education in the U.S.

Apr 18, 2024

A new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) lays out a new vision for high-quality preschool curricula that support equitable early education for all children. The report recommends that in the next five...

NASEM committee including EPI’s Christina Weiland urges changes to preschool curricula to improve equity and support high-quality early education in the U.S.

News

EPI conference looks at the dynamics of higher education and labor markets

Jan 31, 2024

“Achieving the alignment of what’s needed and what students are learning has profound implications for our shared economic prosperity. The United States is undergoing a massive workforce restructuring. While college affordability is really...

EPI conference looks at the dynamics of higher education and labor markets

News

Data mining at USED: Updating old systems to inform new policy

Jan 30, 2024

Kevin Stange approached PhD student Nathan Sotherland in the summer of 2022 with an offer to join him in a unique assignment in the U.S. Department of Education (USED). As a part of the first cohort of economists to join the Office of Under...

Data mining at USED: Updating old systems to inform new policy

News

Hamp contributes her unique perspective on Pre-K for All

Jan 30, 2024

Nikki Hamp (MPA ‘23) had several professional lives before arriving at the Ford School. An MD, she is a board-certified developmental behavioral pediatrician, and until recently has been the medical director of the Arbor Autism Clinic in Ypsilanti...

Hamp contributes her unique perspective on Pre-K for All

News

Ford school faculty available to weigh in on 2024 elections

Jan 28, 2024

The University of Michigan has published an experts guide to the 2024 elections. Ford School faculty are available to offer insights on relevant issues impacting the elections, including the following: Economics Betsey Stevenson, professor of...

Ford school faculty available to weigh in on 2024 elections

News

Jacob and Weiland make the 2024 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings

Jan 28, 2024

Education Week has unveiled the annual 2024 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings which rank education scholars based on criteria that determines who has made the largest impact in their field over the previous year. Christina Weiland, faculty...

Jacob and Weiland make the 2024 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings

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

State & Hill

Spotlights, fall 2023

Dec 10, 2023

What’s on the barbie? Economists Justin Wolfers and Betsey Stevenson were on the guest list as the White House hosted a State Dinner for Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in October. Skills match More than fifty...

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...

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

News

CIERS seminar leads to on-the-ground financial aid research

Oct 2, 2023

“We have great data in Iowa, and we are always interested in working with graduate students to probe it and see what we can learn.” That was an invitation from Meghan Oster (PhD ‘21), who was already working at Iowa College Aid, the state’s...

CIERS seminar leads to on-the-ground financial aid research

News

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

Aug 12, 2023

Calling for early education for all, the Seattle Times Editorial Board has endorsed a plan by Christina Weiland, Education Policy Initiative faculty co-director, and her colleagues for universal pre-k in Washington state. Weiland’s 2021 policy...

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

News

PPIA students reflect on their summer of study and social life

Aug 2, 2023

What are the dynamics of inequity in labor markets? How do we determine appropriate categories for people in a multicultural society? How is the U.S. approach to ethnicity and nationality different from what they are doing in Europe? These were...

PPIA students reflect on their summer of study and social life

In the Media

Jacob paper on student loan debt relief for teachers: No significant effect

Aug 1, 2023 Knowledge at Wharton

Brian Jacob, Knowledge at Wharton: “The potentially limited take-up of this program is of particular interest against the backdrop of a long-standing challenge of recruiting and retaining teachers, especially in high-need school districts, and, more...

In the Media

Jacob's study on teacher loan forgiveness cited in Chalkbeat

Aug 1, 2023 Chalkbeat

Brian Jacob, Chalkbeat: “The program has really good intentions,” said Brian Jacob, a professor at the University of Michigan and coauthor of the study. But, ultimately, “it’s not effective as it’s currently structured.” “The teachers in schools...

News

MEDC shares it knowledge in a data-hungry world

Jul 31, 2023

Education researchers across the country are always in search of more data. They all have access to resources like the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), but each state has different models of collaboration and data sharing. A recent example in...

MEDC shares it knowledge in a data-hungry world

In the Media

MEDC cited as a model for other states

Jul 13, 2023 Chalkbeat Colorado

Chalkbeat Colorado: Strunk said she sees Michigan, where she previously was an education professor, as a model. The Michigan Education Data Center, created through a partnership between the state education department and its flagship public...

News

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

Jul 13, 2023

Ford School Associate Professor Katherine Michelmore testified before the United States Senate Finance Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight, sharing her insights into the effectiveness, and drawbacks, of the first 25 years of the Child Tax...

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

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...

News

Weiland's expertise cited on Boston's pre-K success

Jul 10, 2023

An article in HuffPost highlights the efforts in Boston to provide Universal Pre-K, and refers to the expertise of Christina Weiland, faculty co-director of the Education Policy Initiative (EPI). The Boston program was initiated in 2005, and since...

News

U.S. Supreme Court overturns affirmative action: Ford School experts available

Jun 29, 2023

Ford School experts can discuss the historic U.S. Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action Thursday, in which the justices ruled that race cannot be a factor in college and university admissions decisions: Katherine Michelmore, associate...

U.S. Supreme Court overturns affirmative action: Ford School experts available

In the Media

Jacob on grade retention debate

Jun 20, 2023 Chalbeat

Brian Jacob, Chalkbeat: Brian Jacob, a professor at University of Michigan, has studied retention for many years, but he still is ambivalent about the policy. “I do really come out kind of in the middle,” he said. Maybe students themselves make...

News

The education journey of EPI's Sam Owusu

Jun 19, 2023

Research analyst Sam Owusu recently worked on a project, which surveyed every school district in the state of Michigan about the availability of early childhood programs. It is a part of his job as a research analyst at the Education Policy...

The education journey of EPI's Sam Owusu

News

Ford School welcomes PPIA 2023 cohort

Jun 19, 2023

The 2023 Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Junior Summer Institute (JSI) has welcomed 23 students from 11 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. This year’s cohort will spend seven weeks taking classes, participating in...

News

Annie Taylor on the value of long-term research partnerships

Jun 19, 2023

Every year the Strategic Data Project convenes more than 500 data strategists, education researchers, faculty, and leaders to examine “what works in making evidence-informed change.” The Harvard-led initiative chose “Battle Lines'' as the theme for...

Annie Taylor on the value of long-term research partnerships

News

Ford School expert shares thoughts on next steps after US report on social media's effects on youth

Jun 5, 2023

A Ford School public policy expert who has reviewed the U.S. surgeon general's advisory outlining social media's profound risks to children's mental health says policymakers will need a great deal more data before making any formal...

News

Ford School welcomes local and state elected officials to boost collaborative work

Feb 16, 2023

Elected officials from local, county, and state government came to the Ford School to hear about the potential for collaborations with their offices and the School’s faculty, research centers, and students. Fifteen members of the Michigan State...

Ford School welcomes local and state elected officials to boost collaborative work

In the Media

Weiland touts her preschool research findings

Feb 8, 2023 MIT News

Christina Weiland, MIT News: "I am really excited by this work. We’re seeing the really positive long-term effects of attending preschool. A really important question is not only whether preschool works, yes or no, but how, and what kind of...

Weiland touts her preschool research findings

In the Media

Investment in Pre-K can expand access, increase pay - Weiland

Feb 6, 2023 Chalkbeat Detroit

Chalkboard Detroit: A shift toward free preschool for all 4-year-olds — which the Legislature will debate this session — could increase access and improve teacher pay at the same time. Indeed, that’s what happened in other states with universal...