EPI | Education Policy Initiative

In the Media

Jacob: Standardized tests gave clear targets for math achievement

Jun 10, 2026 The Washington Post

The 2000s were defined by high-stakes standardized testing, rigid teacher evaluations and other federal accountability standards that researchers say had positive effects on math achievement. "By no means were these policies perfect or even sufficien...

Jacob: Standardized tests gave clear targets for math achievement

News

Tool tracking school closures puts data in hands of affected communities, informs work to find solutions

May 27, 2026

EXPERT Q&A West Virginia has been hit with a wave of school closures and consolidations. For Christina Weiland, an education and public policy professor at the University of Michigan who also co-directs the Education Policy Initiative, the matter is ...

Tool tracking school closures puts data in hands of affected communities, informs work to find solutions

In the Media

Jacob: "No Child Left Behind" did improve test scores

May 16, 2026 The New York Times

The law, though, was deeply unpopular with many educators and parents. Critics said it put an outsize focus on testing, pushing schools to teach to the test and spend less time on other important subjects, like the arts or social studies. In 2015, Co...

Jacob: "No Child Left Behind" did improve test scores

In the Media

Weiland explains the benefits of kindergarten

Feb 26, 2026 EdSurge

"Any time a group of kids are being underserved, it's not good for the kid or family," Christina Weiland, a professor of education and public policy at the University of Michigan, says.

Kindergarten explains the benefits of kindergarten

In the Media

Jacob comments on competing screen policies for students

Jan 28, 2026 EdSurge

Brian Jacob, the co-director of University of Michigan's Youth Policy Lab, believes the two initiatives can co-exist, as they address two separate ideas. One expresses enthusiasm for applying AI for educational purposes, while the other centers fear ...

Jacob comments on competing screen policies for students

In the Media

Weiland says Michigan's childcare programs can only be part of the solution

Jan 26, 2026 Crain's Detroit Business

Child care programs in Michigan, such as Tri-Share, are getting national recognition for their impact in lowering the cost of child care for American families. Programs such as Tri-Share reduce the costs of child care by splitting the bill between fa...

Weiland says Michigan's childcare programs can only be part of the solution

In the Media

Jacob comments on fall in public school enrollment in wealthy districts

Jan 8, 2026 The 74

Brian Jacob found that white families removed their children from public schools at much higher rates in districts that were slow to reopen for in-person instruction. Jacob said in an interview that he was "not surprised" to see that parents who had ...

Jacob comments on fall in public school enrollment in wealthy districts

News

Weiland fears for communities in WV facing school consolidations

Nov 30, 2025

For the Ford School's Christina Weiland, an announcement about school consolidation in West Virginia was personal. The Roane County Board of Education voted 4-1 in favor of consolidating schools that Weiland attended, Geary Elementary and Middle Scho...

Weiland fears for communities in WV facing school consolidations

News

U-M and Wayne State University collaborate to study assisting Michigan college students to achieve graduation

Jul 14, 2025

In Michigan, 18% of all community college students have completed some college but are still enrolled well beyond the expected time to a degree. Despite their substantial progress, about 36% of all “long-term persisting” students do not complete any ...

U-M and Wayne State University collaborate to study assisting Michigan college students to achieve graduation

News

What is the secret to better reading outcomes?

May 26, 2025 Education Week

As states have struggled for decades to improve 3rd grade literacy on a large scale, many have enacted policies to hold struggling readers back a year. Education Week recently highlighted Christina Weiland and Brian Jacob's evaluation of Michigan’s “...

What is the secret to better reading outcomes?

News

"We can do better than this" – Weiland Kohn lecture on closing early education gaps

Apr 20, 2025

Christina Weiland, co-director of the Education Policy Initiative and professor at the Ford School, delivered her inaugural lecture as the Karl and Martha Kohn Professor of Social Policy. Weiland, who is also a professor at the Marsal Family School o...

"We can do better than this" – Weiland Kohn lecture on closing early education gaps

In the Media

Stange comments on cuts to education research funding

Mar 21, 2025 Bridge Michigan

Following the recent executive order designed to dismantle the Department of Education, the Ford School's Kevin Stange spoke with Bridge Michigan about what this means for education research. Strange shared that his biggest concern is the fate of nat...

Stange comments on cuts to education research funding

News

Weiland: COVID-19, 5 years on: Lingering impacts and pandemic preparedness

Mar 11, 2025

March 11 marked five years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. The Ford School's Christina Weiland discusses continued effects in education, business and society. Weiland is co-director of the Education Policy In...

Smart from the Start: Closing Early Opportunity Gaps with Strategic Early Learning Investments

News

Cohodes' research "helped define" education in 2024

Dec 22, 2024

Research conducted by the Ford School's Sarah Cohodes has been cited for "defining education in 2024." The 74 network, a non-profit education news service, highlighted Cohodes' research among 11 other studies as some of the "biggest discoveries from ...

Cohodes' research "helped define" education in 2024

In the Media

Cohodes on disparate school of choice system in Michigan

Nov 22, 2024 Bridge Michigan

In Michigan, 1 in 4 K-12 students attend either a charter school or a school of choice district. Nearly all of Michigan's 532 public school districts participate in school choice. The Trump administration is shown to be an advocate for school of choi...

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 scores...

In the Media

Jacob on changes in the post-pandemic American classroom

Sep 3, 2024 Education Next

Ford School professor Brian Jacob talked on Education Next about the way the COVID pandemic has changed American classrooms. He said "we did find that schools look quite a bit different in some important ways one way is obviously a use of a variety o...

Jacob on changes in the post-pandemic American classroom

News

Weiland named to new EdReports' pre-K curriculum review board

Aug 27, 2024

Christina Weiland, Ford School and Karl and Martha Kohn Professor of Social Policy, and co-director of the Education Policy Initiative, was named to EdReports’ New Advisory Board for Pre-K Curriculum Reviews to support "educators by providing compreh...

Weiland named to new EdReports' pre-K curriculum review board

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 year...

Weiland named inaugural Karl and Martha Kohn Professor of Social Policy

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 important,...

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 Secretary...

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 w...

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 pu...

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 children...

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 system. A ...

U-M’s Education Policy Initiative launches project to boost early learning success with new curriculum readiness measure

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 coordinat...

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 br...