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.

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Showing 31 - 60 of 659 results
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...
Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers White House picture
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...
meghan oster and kristen cummings
News

Dr. Stange Goes to Washington

Sep 13, 2023
The Ford School is proud of its record of welcoming policymakers-in-residence. This past year, Ford School professor Kevin Stange played a different role – academic-in-residence. He had a one-year assignment working in the U.S. Department of...
Kevin Stange
News

Ford School welcomes Sarah Cohodes as associate professor

Aug 16, 2023
Leading education policy economist Sarah Cohodes joins the Ford School as an associate professor with tenure. Cohodes uses quantitative causal inference methods to evaluate educational policies and programs. Her research focuses on school choice,...
Sarah Cohodes portrait
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...
Group of PPIA students posing in front of Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy courtyard
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...
Photo of Brian Jacob standing at the Annenberg Auditorium podium, delivering remarks at a public event
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...
Glasses rest on a desktop with various coding windows open on a screen behind
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...
Glasses rest on a desktop with various coding windows open on a screen behind
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...
Photo of Brian Jacob standing at the Annenberg Auditorium podium, delivering remarks at a public event
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...
Headshot of Christina Weiland
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...
Photo of Brian Jacob standing at the Annenberg Auditorium podium, delivering remarks at a public event
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...
Kindergarten teacher with students at a table
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...
Headshot of 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...
PPIA Welcome 2023
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...
Headshot of Christina Weiland
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...
Headshot of Christina Weiland
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...
Photo of young children and their teachers in a classroom. By Yan Krukov
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...
Photo of young students, each reading a book, seated around a small classroom table
News

Announcing winter 2023 Ford School events

Jan 11, 2023
 The Ford School is pleased to announce an exciting lineup for the winter 2023 Policy Talks @ the Ford School series and other special public events hosted with partners from across campus. Events are free and open to the public unless otherwise...
Headshots of Peter Meijer, Jelani Cobb, Jeh Johnson, Andy Levin, and Angela Harrelson