education policy initiative

Our Impact

Research, learning, and impactThe Ford School is home to or co-sponsor of a growing number of active, multi-disciplinary research centers and initiatives leveraging the knowledge and expertise across the University of Michigan. They serve as a resour...

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.

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

State & Hill

25 years of CLOSUP

Apr 11, 2026

When the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission faced a tidal wave of public input—more than 30,000 comments—the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) and Ford School students stepped in. Their analysis helped the commiss...

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

Ford School marks 45 years as a PPIA host site, welcomes 2026 Junior Summer Institute cohort

Mar 20, 2026

This summer, the Ford School welcomes 18 undergraduate students from 10 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico for the Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Junior Summer Institute (JSI).

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 ...

In the Media

Kindergarten explains the benefits of kindergarten

Feb 26, 2026 EdSurge

Ford School professor Christina Weiland discusses the importance of kindergarten

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...

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

Jacob comments on competing screen policies for students

Jan 28, 2026 EdSurge

Competing initiatives to promote AI literacy, at the same time as efforts to limit student screen time, can co-exist, according to Brian Jacob.

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

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 and that he was "not surprised" to see that parents who had found private alternativ...

State & Hill

Faculty news, fall 2025

Dec 8, 2025

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

Headshots of Javed Ali, Bill Axinn, Samuel Bagenstos, Jenna Bednar, Elizabeth Gerber, Devin Judge-Lord, Alexander Ralph, Fabiana Silva, Alton Worthington, and Dean Yang.

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.

Publication

How mobility of graduates complicates efforts to measure college value

Sep 26, 2025

As policymakers ramp up efforts to hold higher education accountable for the financial outcomes of their graduates, new research from Ford School professor Kevin Stange and colleagues reveals a major complicating factor: college graduates don’t alway...

Photo of Kevin Stange giving a policy talk.

News

Ford School team receives Accelerate grant from U-M Bold Challenges Initiative to advance early intervention for children with disabilities

Sep 4, 2025

A team led by Christina Weiland, Karl and Martha Kohn Professor of Social Policy and co-director of the Education Policy Initiative, and Catherine Asher, assistant research scientist at the Youth Policy Lab, has been selected for the University of Mi...

Group of toddlers playing with toys sitting on floor at kindergarten

News

Brian Jacob: Michigan's education system needs structural reform now

Aug 4, 2025

In guest commentary for Bridge Michigan, Brian Jacob highlights findings from his recently released a rigorous, independent study commissioned by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE).

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 ...

Publication

Making the grade: Targeted help, not being held back, offers leg up to students struggling with reading

Jun 26, 2025

Policies calling for holding children back a grade in elementary school to improve their reading skills are widespread—if unpopular—across the United States. However, the benefits to students appear to come from the support services put in place once...

Photo of a young child, held in the lap of an a guardian or teacher, reading a book

News

State data initiatives inform education policy amid federal withdrawal

May 30, 2025

As the federal government appears poised to pull back on collecting and disseminating educational data, it’s increasingly critical that information collected and maintained by states and local districts is available to inform policy, according to a p...

education policy initiative