education policy

In the Media

Jacob: Standardized tests gave clear targets for math achievement

Jun 10, 2026 The Washington Post

Average math scores for 9- and 13-year-olds in the U.S. remain lower than they were 10 years ago. Ford School professor Brian Jacob says that part of the reason may be a lack of emphasis on standardized tests.

Publication

'From STEM to earn': High school programs aimed at diversifying the field drive gains in college, salaries

Jun 4, 2026

High school students participating in pipeline programs aimed at increasing diversity in STEM fields are more likely to enroll in—and graduate from—elite colleges with a related degree, according to a study by Sarah Cohodes.

News

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

May 27, 2026

Kohn Professor Christina Weiland talks about the WV school closure tracker to help policymakers, community members, and families make informed policy decisions.

News

Hausman, Michelmore, and Pilkauskas promoted to full professors

May 22, 2026

The Regents of the University of Michigan approved promotions for Catherine Hausman, Katherine Michelmore, and Natasha Pilkauskas—all to professor of public policy, with tenure.

In the Media

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

May 16, 2026 The New York Times

Ford School Professor Brian Jacob told The New York Times that while No Child Left Behind did increase test scores, it had problematic elements.

Publication

Lockable phone pouches in schools improve student well-being over time, not test scores or bullying

May 8, 2026

A popular device for restricting cell phone use in middle and high schools is effective at achieving that aim, leading to short-term disruption but ultimately positive effects on student well-being, new research finds.

State & Hill

"This research is not partisan"

May 7, 2026

What’s the public school ROI? Should the state offer transitional kindergarten? Why do eligible college students leave financial aid on the table? The Education Policy Initiative's Michigan Education Data Center helps us understand what work–and why–...

Open book laying on table with doodles, sketches, and graphs above it

Alumni spotlight

Pathways for student success

May 7, 2026

For nearly a decade, Rohan Dharan (BA '13) led initiatives to ensure all DC Public School students had access to advanced and enriched academics.

State & Hill

Faculty news, spring 2026

May 7, 2026

Ford School experts are publishing research, sharing their knowledge, and getting recognized.

A series of six headshots of people smiling

State & Hill

Spotlights, spring 2026

May 7, 2026

Over spring break, annual policy study trips took undergrads to Brussels for the BA Global Engagement Seminar (above) and graduate students to Colombia for the International Policy in Practice seminar (below).

A group of undergraduate students holding a Ford School flag at the European Parliament

News

Youth Policy Lab welcomes Morehouse and Spelman students to 2026 ASPIRE summer program

Apr 27, 2026

Spelman students Toni Flemming, Joasia Jacobs, Olivia Liddie, and Morehouse students Donovan Correll, Chavous Langhorn, and Vincent Patterson will spend the summer advancing quantitative social science research skills, learning about careers that inv...

Donovan Correll, Toni Flemming, Joasia Jacobs, Chavous Langhorn, Olivia Liddie, Vincent Patterson

Policy Matters

A West Coast perspective: How Dixie Samaniego (MPP ‘27) transitioned from college in California to the Ford School

Apr 23, 2026

Dixie Samaniego (MPP ‘27) talks about finding community at the Ford School and her transition from the West Coast to the Midwest.

A student smiling in the crowd at a college football game

News

What happens when schools restrict phones? U-M Youth Policy Lab convenes national conference as new studies get underway

Apr 16, 2026

On April 10, the University of Michigan's Youth Policy Lab (YPL) convened a National School Cell Phone Policy Conference, inviting researchers, practitioners, and policymakers from Michigan and beyond to compare notes on a rapidly changing school pol...

News

Rahm Emanuel urges students to perform national service in wide-ranging conversation

Mar 22, 2026

Rahm Emanuel met with a small group of Ford School students, faculty, and staff.

News

EPI Predoctoral Fellow Jordy Berne wins Jean Flanigan Outstanding Dissertation Award

Mar 20, 2026

Education Policy Initiative Predoctoral Fellow alum, Jordy Berne, won the Association for Education Finance and Policy's Outstanding Dissertation Award for his dissertation "Economic Analyses of Early Childhood Education"

News

Meet the faculty who shape the Ford School’s Online Master of Public Affairs (MPA) experience

Mar 10, 2026

Professors Morela Hernandez, Mara Ostfeld, Megan Tompkins-Stange, and Justin Wolfers will be teaching courses for the Ford School's Online MPA program this fall.

News

U-M-led study focuses on how schools successfully launch high-quality early learning curricula

Mar 10, 2026

Christina Weiland, co-director of U-M's Education Policy Initiative as well as a professor of education and public policy, discusses her team's research on early-learning curricula implementation across the country.

News

First-of-its-kind national educator survey reveals both promise and peril in school cell phone policies

Feb 27, 2026

New findings from the first national study of school cell phone policies finds that as bell-to-bell phone bans expand across the country, many educators report noticeable changes in how students interact with one another and decreased phone usage in ...

News

Michelmore inducted to the National Academy of Social Insurance

Feb 27, 2026

Katherine Michelmore was inducted into NASI, an organization dedicated to exploring how social insurance contributes to economic security.

In the Media

Kindergarten explains the benefits of kindergarten

Feb 26, 2026 EdSurge

Ford School professor Christina Weiland discusses the importance of kindergarten

In the Media

Charter schools are becoming more popular - Cohodes

Feb 22, 2026 Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Ford School professor Sarah Cohodes discusses who has historically supported charter schools and why more and more families have moved to them since the pandemic

News

Michigan governor signs classroom cell phone ban: U-M experts available to comment

Feb 11, 2026

Expert advisory: Brian Jacob is available to discuss a new policy that will ban cell phone use in Michigan's K-12 classrooms.

Publication

Should schools lower the chronic absenteeism threshold? New EPI research suggests they should

Feb 6, 2026

New evidence from the Ford School's Education Policy Initiative (EPI) shows absenteeism may hurt student's academics long before it is considered a chronic pattern. These findings, published in a January working paper, were recently featured in Educa...

Policy Matters

A Fordie’s guide to Michigan life in all seasons

Feb 2, 2026

Megan Connors (MPP '26) gives advice to incoming students on what they should do throughout the year in Michigan

Panoramic photo of a full Michigan Stadium from the Michigan-Ohio State game in 2011

Publication

Jacob and Weiland raise concerns about potential bias in traditional retention studies

Jan 30, 2026

In a recent article published in the Journal of Public Economics, University of Michigan professors Brian Jacob, Christina Weiland, and Jordan Berne (who earned his doctorate in economics from U-M), along with Katharine Strunk, dean of the University...

Headshots of Brian Jacob and Christina Weiland

In the Media

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

Jan 26, 2026 Crain's Detroit Business

Recently, child care programs in Michigan, such as Tri-Share, have seen increasing success, prompting them to be proposed at the federal level. While Tri-Share, among other child care programs have proved effective in Michigan, the Ford School's Chri...

News

Ford School faculty among the nation's top education scholars

Jan 8, 2026

Cohodes, Jacob, and Weiland made the 2026 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings.

Headshots of Brian A. Jacob, Christina J. Weiland, and Sarah Cohodes

State & Hill

How do you ensure every child gets a strong start?

Dec 8, 2025

For nearly two decades, Christina Weiland has partnered with education leaders nationwide to pinpoint how to strengthen early learning. She teamed up with Boston Public Schools to roll out and assess their universal pre-K program. With evidence-based...

Person at a podium giving an animated speech

News

Weiland fears for communities in WV facing school consolidations

Nov 30, 2025

After the ruling to consolidate Roane County public schools in West Virginia, the Ford School's Christina Weiland steps in to advocate against these changes.

News

Malala Yousafzai inspires students with her activism journey

Oct 27, 2025

The Ford School and the Weiser Diplomacy Center welcomed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai to Ann Arbor for a conversation about her personal journey as an activist.