education policy initiative

Our Impact

Education policy

From cradle through career, education programs exist to help children and youth learn, grow, and succeed in school and in life. But how do decision makers know which interventions work? How can their investments address institutional and systemic...

Research centers

Research, learning, and impact The 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...

In the Media

Cohodes on disparate school of choice system in Michigan

Nov 22, 2024 Bridge Michigan

In Michigan, 1 in 4 K-12 students attend either a charter school or a school of choice district. Nearly all of Michigan's 532 public school districts participate in school choice. The Trump administration is shown to be an advocate for school of...

News

Cohodes receives funding to dig deeper into charter school impact

Oct 10, 2024

With a $275,000 grant from MIT Blueprint Labs, two University of Michigan professors will tease out why some schools better prepare students for college than others.The project is led by Sarah Cohodes, associate professor at the Ford School of...

In the Media

With Michigan school bond proposals on the ballot, Jacob stresses funding challenges within districts

Oct 7, 2024 Bridge Michigan

Nearly 1 in 10 Michigan school districts have bond proposals on the ballot in the upcoming November elections. Raising awareness of the lack of funding for Michigan schools, the Ford School's Brian Jacob stated, "There is no state funding for school...

News

Stange receives federal grant to classify college courses at scale

Oct 4, 2024

Research on college course taking, and what students learn while attending college have historically been hampered by inconsistent course titles and numbers across multiple institutions. Education economist Kevin Stange and a research team from the...

News

Katherine Michelmore wins the 24th David N. Kershaw Award and Prize

Sep 25, 2024

Katherine Michelmore, associate professor of public policy at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy has been awarded the 2024 David N. Kershaw Award and Prize for her contributions as a leading scholar and educator on...

In the Media

Cohodes research on Massachusetts charter schools shows positive outcomes

Sep 16, 2024 Education Next

Research conducted by Sarah Cohodes on Massachusetts charter schools shows that "charter schools in urban areas, including Boston, do a great job boosting test scores, and the ones outside of those urban areas, tended to have no impact on test...

State & Hill

Greater than its sum: an update on the Kohn Collaborative

Aug 24, 2024

Six years ago, Harold and Carol Kohn approached the Ford School with a vision to honor their family. Their goal was to build a vibrant research community dedicated to promoting social equity and inclusion. Today, the Kohn Collaborative for Social...

News

U-M Ford School welcomes renowned scholars and former city leaders

Aug 22, 2024

The Ford School successfully grew our faculty in 2024, bringing in experts to deepen our focus on early childhood education, health and aging, better government, and criminal justice policy. Additionally, we welcomed distinguished policymakers in...

Publication

Transitional kindergarten programs expand early education access, boost academic gain

Aug 16, 2024

Children enrolled in transitional kindergarten programs in Michigan did better in math and English by the time they reached 3rd grade, with higher test scores than other kids who didn't go through the program, according to a new policy brief from...

Kindergarten teacher with students at a table

Publication

One size doesn't fit all: U-M study reveals different educational models can lead to college success

Aug 9, 2024

New research led by University of Michigan education economist Sarah Cohodes provides insights into how different K-12 educational environments shape college preparation, enrollment and graduation...

News

Weiland named inaugural Karl and Martha Kohn Professor of Social Policy

Jul 18, 2024

Today the Regents of the University of Michigan approved Christina Weiland’s appointment as the inaugural Karl and Martha Kohn Professor of Social Policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.With a gift from Hal and Carol Kohn and the Kohn...

News

Micah Baum wins the 2024 Peter Eckstein Prize

Jul 10, 2024

Ford School PhD candidate Micah Baum is the 2024 winner of the Peter Eckstein Prize for Interdisciplinary Research, a competitive student award that celebrates the value of interdisciplinary research in public policy.Baums’s research paper,...

Publication

Higher education responds to changing labor markets

Jul 8, 2024

Do universities respond to the changing needs of industry by offering curriculums that provide students skills they need on the job? That’s the central question of a multi-year research project headed up by Kevin Stange, co-director of the...

News

Stange and Weiland promoted to full professors

May 16, 2024

On May 16, the Regents of the University of Michigan approved promotions for Kevin Stange and Christina Weiland. Stange was promoted to professor of public policy, with tenure, and professor of education. Weiland was promoted to professor of...

Headshots of Kevin Stange and Christina Weiland

News

Ford School researchers to study Michigan’s education governance

May 1, 2024

In partnership with the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), a team of researchers from the Ford School will conduct a study into how Michigan’s education governance system can be improved for the benefit of public school students.“An effective...

News

OVPR awards 3 Ford School staff members for research, leadership

Apr 26, 2024

The Office of the Vice President for Research will recognize three of the Ford School's research center staff—Jasmina Camo-Biogradlija (Education Policy Initiative), Molly Kleinman (Science, Technology and Public Policy program), and Kyle S. Kwaiser...

Headshots of Jasmina Camo, Molly Klienman, and Kyle Kwaiser

State & Hill

Katherine Michelmore and Natasha Pilkauskas on policy rooted in evidence and facts

Apr 24, 2024

Ford School students take on a variety of different roles after graduation—some do research, some will engage in advocacy, others will become civil servants. As instructors of two of the core research methods courses that our students take, we have...

State & Hill

Faculty Findings, spring 2024

Apr 24, 2024

Inclusive innovation—the idea of introducing technologies designed for and by the poor to boost economic growth in impoverished communities—often misses the real problems facing these communities and champions solutions that benefit entrepreneurs at...

Colorful illustration of many different women

Publication

U-M researchers partner with District of Columbia Public Schools for Pre-K curriculum implementation study

Apr 24, 2024

University of Michigan researchers from the Education Policy Initiative (EPI) at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and the Marsal Family School of Education have partnered with MDRC, District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), and the Urban...

Publication

NASEM committee including EPI’s Christina Weiland urges changes to preschool curricula to improve equity and support high-quality early education in the U.S.

Apr 18, 2024

A new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) lays out a new vision for high-quality preschool curricula that support equitable early education for all children. The report recommends that in the next five...

News

Education research in service of others

Apr 11, 2024

2022 Gerald R. Ford Presidential Fellow and Education Policy Initiative (EPI) Research Assistant Katie Hyland (MPP ‘24) is set to graduate this spring following the completion of her Master’s in Public Policy. She takes with her two years of...

News

Transformative upgrades to Michigan's longitudinal data system

Apr 11, 2024

A new $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education will improve Michigan’s statewide longitudinal data system, the go-to source for critical education data going to researchers and other stakeholders in Michigan and nationwide. The grant...

Illustration of a bubble test sheet with bubbles filled in and lines connecting them like a circuitboard

Publication

Lessons learned: Urban charter schools demonstrate potential to improve student performance

Feb 22, 2024

While the merits of charter schools vs. traditional public schools are well-documented, some charter schools in urban areas can dramatically improve student achievement, especially among disadvantaged students, says a University of Michigan...

News

School enrollment during COVID-19: U-M study reveals racial disparities

Feb 21, 2024

Student enrollment in districts that provided in-person schooling in fall 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic showed a greater decline among nonwhite students than white students.But in districts that offered virtual learning, the opposite was true,...

Brian Jacob, the Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Education Policy at the Ford School.

News

Jacob and Stange: Getting free college right

Feb 9, 2024

Governor Gretchen Whitmer proposed making the first two years of community college free in Michigan in her 2024 State of the State AddressIn an opinion published in Bridge Michigan, Brian Jacob and Kevin Strange applaud Governor Whitmer for her...

Headshots of Brian Jacob and Kevin Stange

News

EPI conference looks at the dynamics of higher education and labor markets

Jan 31, 2024

“Achieving the alignment of what’s needed and what students are learning has profound implications for our shared economic prosperity. The United States is undergoing a massive workforce restructuring. While college affordability is really...

News

Hamp contributes her unique perspective on Pre-K for All

Jan 30, 2024

Nikki Hamp (MPA ‘23) had several professional lives before arriving at the Ford School. An MD, she is a board-certified developmental behavioral pediatrician, and until recently has been the medical director of the Arbor Autism Clinic in Ypsilanti...

News

Data mining at USED: Updating old systems to inform new policy

Jan 30, 2024

Kevin Stange approached PhD student Nathan Sotherland in the summer of 2022 with an offer to join him in a unique assignment in the U.S. Department of Education (USED). As a part of the first cohort of economists to join the Office of Under...