Departments and Research Centers

Education Policy Initiative

The Education Policy Initiative (EPI) is a program within the Ford School that brings together nationally-recognized education policy scholars focused on the generation and dissemination of policy-relevant education research.

Showing 241 - 270 of 679 results

"To me, it is immoral to deny children a better education" - Dynarski featured in NYT

Nov 4, 2016

David Leonhardt’s November 4 New York Times op-ed, “Schools that work,” features charter school research and commentary by Susan Dynarski, co-director of the Ford School’s Education Policy Initiative. The op-ed concerns a controversial ballot...

Susan Dynarski in NYT, “A conveyor belt of dropouts and debt at for-profit colleges”

Oct 31, 2016

Susan Dynarski, in Sunday’s New York Times, describes for-profit colleges as having “a conveyor belt of dropouts and debt.”Dynarski points out that enrollment at for-profit colleges has jumped, especially since the Great Recession, when increased...

Stange on a new measure of college quality, effects of sector and peers on degree attainment

Oct 19, 2016

“A New Measure of College Quality to Study the Effects of College Sector and Peers on Degree Attainment,” a journal article by Jonathan Smith and Kevin Stange, has been published in the fall 2016 edition of Education Finance and...

U-M attracts 262 HAIL Scholarship recipients from 52 Michigan counties in first year

Oct 17, 2016

Enrolling at the University of Michigan seemed like a far-fetched dream for Devin Raymond.Despite his 3.9 high school GPA, being the president of student council, and his involvement in choir, band, musical theater and other extracurricular...

Jacob on Educational Test Score Manipulation in NBER Working Paper

Oct 12, 2016

“The Causes and Consequences of Test Score Manipulation: Evidence from the New York Regents Examinations” a journal article by Thomas S. Dee, Will Dobbie, Brian A. Jacob, and Jonah Rockoff, has been released as an NBER working paper.AbstractIn this...

Jacob on technology and educational equality in Journal of the Social Sciences

Oct 6, 2016

"Can technology help promote equality of educational opportunities?" a journal article by Brian Jacob, Dan Berger, Cassandra Hart, and Susanna Loeb (MPP '94), has been published in the September 2016 edition of the Russell Sage Foundation's Journal...

Brian Jacob in Brookings: "The wisdom of mandatory grade retention" in Michigan

Sep 30, 2016

Brian Jacob's latest contribution to Brookings' Evidence Speaks focuses on “The wisdom of mandatory grade retention.”In the article, Jacob investigates whether it is sound public policy to require third graders who fall behind in grade-level reading...

"Class sizes in Michigan, the quiet crisis," new research by Education Policy Initiative

Sep 21, 2016

New research from the Education Policy Initiative at the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy found that many Michigan K-12 students experience very large core classes—with 40 or more students—but that some students are at greater...

In New York Times, Susan Dynarski welcomes FAFSA changes, urges more reforms

Sep 16, 2016

Susan Dynarski, a longtime advocate for simplifying the FAFSA (the financial aid application students and their families must submit for college), welcomes new changes and suggests future reforms in this Sunday's New York Times “Economic...

In Brookings, Dynarski advocates for expansion of charter school quota in Massachusetts

Sep 15, 2016

In some urban areas of Massachusetts, a statewide cap on charter schools restricts any additional charter seats. Susan Dynarski and Sarah Cohodes tackle this issue in “Massachusetts charter cap holds back disadvantaged students,” the latest Evidence...

Don’t miss Dynarski’s “74” interview on data-driven education policies and practices

Sep 2, 2016

Susan Dynarski was interviewed by The 74, a non-profit news site (named after the 74 million American children under the age of 18) that covers pressing topics in domestic education.The interview, conducted by senior staff writer Matt Barnum, covers...

Brian Jacob on student test scores—how they’re assembled and why that matters

Aug 16, 2016

In “Student test scores: How the sausage is made and why you should care,” Brian Jacob describes how student ability is measured; how various test makers analyze and report student performance; and why this matters for policymakers and practitioners...

Susan Dynarski in NYT, “Why American schools are even more unequal than we thought”

Aug 16, 2016

Susan Dynarski, writing for The New York Times, explains “Why American schools are even more unequal than we thought.” In the piece, Dynarski describes a new measure of economic hardship—one that reveals an even more troubling picture of the...

Stange on investing in schools: Capital spending, facility conditions, and student achievement

Aug 1, 2016

“Investing in Schools: Capital Spending, Facility Conditions, and Student Achievement” a journal article by Paco Martorell, Kevin Stange, and Isaac McFarlin, has been published in the August 2016 edition of the Journal of Public...

RNC’s new call for a return to a “competitive” student loan market won’t work, says Dynarski

Jul 21, 2016

In “The RNC wants to make student loans competitive again. They never were,” Susan Dynarski provides detailed context on one plank of the newly released Republican platform, which pushes to get the federal government out of the student loan...

EPI’s DC conference, “Restructuring student loans: Lessons from abroad"

Jun 14, 2016

Roughly 100 guests—including policymakers, practitioners, and members of the press—attended “Restructuring student loans: Lessons from abroad,” a conference organized by Susan Dynarski, co-founder and co-director of the Ford School’s Education...

For Brookings, Brian Jacob describes "the opportunities and challenges of digital learning"

May 6, 2016

On the 20th anniversary of the publication of his first op-ed on the use of classroom computers, Brian Jacob, who is engaged in several digital learning research initiatives, explores “The opportunities and challenges of digital learning.” Jacob’s...

“Is student debt hampering the housing recovery?” No, says Dynarski in Brookings

May 4, 2016

“The striking gap in homeownership is not between college-educated people who did and did not borrow, but between those with and without a college education,” writes Susan Dynarski in “The dividing line between haves and have-nots in homeownership:...

State & Hill

Tackling educational disparities “in the classroom, on campus, and beyond”

Apr 22, 2016

Once, she was a first-generation college student from a working-class suburb of Boston. Now, she is an internationally renowned professor of education policy with the ear of the White House. So Susan Dynarski knows that education can be...

Dynarski in NYT Upshot, "How to use tax credits to increase college attendance"

Apr 19, 2016

Susan Dynarski’s latest New York Times Upshot contribution explores “How to use tax credits to increase college attendance.”“Taxpayers will file for $20 billion in tax credits for college expenses they paid in 2015, but while those who get [the...

In Brookings, Dynarski investigates effects of slashing student loan interest rates

Apr 14, 2016

Susan Dynarski considers the effects of student loan interest rates in “What does cutting rates on student loans do?” The piece appears in Evidence Speaks, a weekly publication of the Brookings Institution's Center on Children and Families. Dynarski...

Dynarski in Sunday NYT, why talented black and Hispanic students can go undiscovered

Apr 9, 2016

Susan Dynarski’s economic view, “Why talented black and Hispanic students can go undiscovered,” was published in this Sunday's New York Times. “Public schools are increasingly filled with black and Hispanic students, but the children identified as...

Dynarski's FAFSA reform championed by American Enterprise Institute writer

Apr 5, 2016

Susan Dynarski's proposal to eliminate the FAFSA form was among the reforms championed by an American Enterprise Institute (AEI) writer and research assistant in an article published Tuesday, April 5.In "Fix student aid and FAFSA to help more...

Dynarski on the effects of Boston’s charter high schools on college prep, entry, choice

Apr 1, 2016

“Stand and Deliver: Effects of Boston’s Charter High Schools on College Preparation, Entry, and Choice” a journal article by Joshua Angrist, Sarah Cohodes, Susan Dynarski, Parag Pathak, and Christopher Walters, has been published in the April 2016...

News

Apply now to inaugural Detroit Data Fellowship and use stats for social impact

Mar 30, 2016

Want to use your data skills to develop solutions to social challenges facing the city of Detroit? The Detroit Data Fellows Program is a two-year, full-time post-graduate fellowship during which participants work with city agencies to analyze...

Dynarski voted president-elect of the Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP)

Mar 21, 2016

Susan Dynarski was voted president-elect of the Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP) during the organization’s 41st conference, March 17-19, 2016. Dynarski will serve as president-elect in 2017 and will become the organization’s 43rd...

C.S. Mott Foundation grant allows Mills and colleagues to research wind energy in MI

Mar 18, 2016

Last month, CLOSUP Program Manager Sarah Mills received an $80,000 award from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to investigate community attitudes about wind energy in Michigan. Mills will work in collaboration with CLOSUP Director Barry Rabe...

Megan Blair (MPP '16) wins Innovation in Action competition for early learning social enterprise

Mar 14, 2016

On March 9, Megan Blair (MPP ’16) led team "Formativity" to a victory in the U-M School of Public Health’s annual Innovation in Action competition.Innovation in Action is a five-month competition that gives multidisciplinary teams an opportunity to...

News

Former White House Deputy Director James Kvaal is next Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence

Mar 10, 2016

The Ford School community will welcome former Deputy Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council James Kvaal as a Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence this fall. The White House announced Mr. Kvaal's departure this morning,...

President Barack Obama and James Kvaal in the Oval Office

News

Michigan Radio interviews Brian Jacob about latest research on MI high school curriculum reforms

Mar 9, 2016

Last week, Brian Jacob, Susan Dynarski and two colleagues from Michigan State released a new paper, "Are expectations alone enough? Estimating the effect of a mandatory college-prep curriculum in Michigan." The paper examines the effect of the 2006...