The problem addressed in this study was that many urban minority students in a Midwestern state begin school without the requisite emergent literacy skills. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the instructional approaches used by early childhood education (ECE) teachers in an urban community in a selected Midwestern…

We describe alignment between high school career and technical education (CTE) and local labor markets across five states--Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Tennessee, and Washington. We find that CTE is partially aligned with local labor markets. A 10-percentage-point higher share of local jobs related to a CTE career cluster is associated with a…

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have been proposed as a mechanism to democratize access to the benefits of apprentice-style scientific research to a broader diversity of students, promoting inclusivity and increasing student success and retention. As we evaluate CUREs, it is essential to explore their effectiveness within…

This study examines how student achievement changes following a transfer to a newly opened school. Using comprehensive data on students and teachers from Michigan schools that opened or closed between the 2010-11 and 2018-19 school years, the study employs event study models to evaluate changes in student outcomes as the local supply of schools…

The U.S. Constitution is the most well-known governing document in the country--studied by students, endlessly interpreted and reinterpreted by judges and political pundits, and placed in the category of near-religious reverence by many Americans. In the last 50 years it has been amended exactly once, in a ratification process that took over 200…

The WIRE Youth Development Programs, housed within the Lewis Walker Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnic Relations at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, foster two enrichment programs geared towards strengthening the gap in academic knowledge through STEM/STEAM activities. Since its inception, WIRE has impacted over 1,000 youth…

Purpose: This research study provides insight into students' perceptions of teaching through virtual and face-to-face clinicals in an introductory education course in a pre-education program at a minority-serving institution. Design/methodology/approach: This study took place at an urban-suburban-centered community college in the Midwestern United…

Lyman Briggs College is a small residential college within Michigan State University, devoted to preparing students for STEM careers via preparation in the biophysical sciences that is paired with the humanistic and social scientific study of science and sciences humanistic and social dimensions. This paper reports and interprets the quantitative…

According to a new analysis by The Education Trust-Midwest, Michigan is underfunding students from low-income backgrounds and English Learners by an estimated $5.1 billion annually compared to what leading states practice and what research indicates is needed for those students to succeed. The analysis also found that Michigan is near the bottom…

We use data from Michigan and an interrupted time series (ITS) strategy to show how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted new special education classifications and discontinuations. We find a substantial decrease in K-5 classifications and discontinuations during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years. Classifications fell by 19 and 12 percent in these…

The Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) has been working closely with the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) and the Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI) to study the implementation and outcomes of Michigan's Read by Grade Three Law in real-time as the policy takes effect. Between 2021 and 2023, the Law…

This study examines what undergraduate students say they learn about engaging with difference and across cultures in the Michigan Union and the Trotter Multicultural Center at the University of Michigan, a historically white institution. The University of Michigan is a historically white institution because of its majority of white students,…

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) are effective when schools address perceived obstacles for teachers, engage in the problem-solving process using disaggregated behavior data, and routinely use reliable measurement tools to evaluate its level of implementation. Although PBIS schools have made great strides in outcomes for…

This study investigates the associations between statewide affirmative action bans and the racial composition of undergraduate students at public 4-year colleges and universities in five states, that is, Arizona, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma. I use the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System data from 1999 to 2017, and…

For decades, college tuition costs have been skyrocketing, yet state financial aid has failed to meet the increasing economic needs of college students -- leaving many young people with the choice of bridging the financial gap by taking out student loans or not attending college at all. This pressing issue of rising college tuition is not just a…