In "State Commission: Consider abolishing Board of Education," Ted Roefels of Bridge Magazine quotes Brian Jacob, whose research focuses on improving educational achievement and outcomes.
The article, published on March 9, covers a forthcoming report to be released by Michigan's 21st Century Education Commission, which was convened by the state to examine Michigan's public education system and offer proposed reforms.
Jacob told Bridge that he sees one of the major problems in Michigan as a lack of a consistent, statewide education policy. “If nothing is done, the public system of education is going to continue to decline," he said. "There needs to be some clear line of authority.”
The article also references Jacob's study, published by Brookings last month, "How the U.S. Department of Education can foster education reform in the era of Trump and ESSA." In the study, Jacob makes the case for the U.S. Department of Education to start grading states' educational performance to encourage greater accountability and drive states to improve educational outcomes.
Brian Jacob is the Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Education Policy, Professor of Economics, and Professor of Education at the University of Michigan. He is co-director of the Ford School's Education Policy Initiative (EPI), which engages in applied, policy-relevant education research designed to help improve overall educational achievement and outcomes.