Highlighted Publications




 

This article reviews evidence from recent randomized controlled trials and lottery studies, comparing them with older, small-scale interventions. Across studies, modern preschool programs produce much smaller short-term gains (about 0.21 SD vs. 0.45 SD in earlier programs) and show faster fadeout, with impacts shrinking by 62% within a year. The Policy Scientist's Perspective This article addresses an important policy question: why the measured impacts of preschool have weake

This study asked whether federal and state Universal Free School Meal (UFSM) policies increased student participation in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP). Using school-level meal claims from 25 U.S. states between 2019 and 2024, the authors conducted a difference-in-difference analysis. They found that federal UFSM policies during the COVID-19 pandemic raised participation by 10 percentage points for lunches and 8 for breakfasts. Whe

This article asks why U.S. K–12 academic achievement has been declining since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Using national and state NAEP data from 2009–2019, along with supporting evidence from TIMSS and SEDA, the study finds that achievement losses began around 2013 and were especially large among low-performing students. Scores at the 10th percentile in eighth-grade math fell by about 0.17 standard deviations—roughly equivalent to 4.5 months of learning. The analysis shows

This study asks whether changes in state NAEP math scores predict long-term economic and social outcomes for the students who experienced them. The authors link state-level 8th-grade NAEP math results from 1990–2019 to later-life data from the Census, American Community Survey, and FBI crime records. They find that a one–standard deviation increase in 8th-grade math scores is associated with about an 8% rise in adult earnings, higher educational attainment, and lower rates of

This study asked how the design of Virginia’s “Get a Skill, Get a Job, Get Ahead” (G3) tuition-free college program affected community...

This study asks how the COVID-19 pandemic affected student learning trajectories in Michigan, particularly in math and reading....

This study examines whether a weighted-student funding pilot in Nevada improved school expenditures and student achievement. Researchers...

This study asks how the duration and timing of childhood net worth poverty (NWP)—household wealth below 25% of the federal poverty...

This study investigates whether being assigned to teach in one’s home state affects teacher retention. Using unique Teach For America...

This study asks whether substituting student loans with need-based gift aid alters postsecondary outcomes for low-income students at...

This study investigates whether intensive, personalized advising through the EMERGE Fellowship improves selective college outcomes for...

This study asks whether large-scale tuition subsidies increase political participation. Using 16.4 million FAFSA records linked to...

This study investigates whether public investment in community colleges can shift adult learners away from for-profit institutions. Using...

This study investigates how teacher attrition and mobility in Michigan shifted before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using...

This article examines how lowering the vote threshold to approve local school bonds affects education funding. Using a...

This policy brief asks why community college to university transfer rates remain persistently low despite extensive policy reforms....

This study investigates whether predictive algorithms used in higher education exhibit racial bias that disadvantages Black students....

This study investigates how household exposure to housing price declines—specifically, negative equity—affected children’s educational...

This study investigates whether innovative academic work by women receives the same citation recognition as similar work by men. Using...

This study asks whether professional reference ratings can predict future teacher performance. Using data from Spokane Public Schools...