Ann Arbor Times

As the federal government plans to reduce its role in collecting and sharing educational data, state and local districts are stepping up to fill the gap. Kevin Stange, co-director of the University of Michigan’s Education Policy Initiative, emphasizes the importance of this data: “This type of research is not partisan or political,” he said. “We want to help children succeed, so we want to know what works. If it doesn’t, we also want to know that because we don’t want to spend money on a big program that is not effective.”

The Michigan Education Data Center (MEDC), part of U-M’s Education Policy Initiative, serves as a repository for educational data. Stange highlights two examples where MEDC's data is influencing education policy.

Firstly, over half of Michigan's school districts offer transitional kindergarten programs funded by the state. These programs provide an extra year before traditional kindergarten for children needing additional development time. Research backed by MEDC indicates these programs enhance access to early childhood education, improve kindergarten readiness significantly, and lead to better math scores through third grade.

Secondly, MEDC has supplied valuable insights into Michigan’s Tuition Incentive Program (TIP), which offers tuition aid to community college students who have been Medicaid recipients at some point. Stange's research reveals that only 14% of eligible high school graduates and 29% of eligible community college students utilize TIP due mainly to unawareness about eligibility. This finding has led the agency to intensify efforts in educating students and schools about the program.

Stange notes that without such research initiatives from entities like MEDC, understanding what educational strategies work would be challenging: “The state doesn’t have the resources to do this type of analysis because they are busy running the program,” he explained. “Absent this research, we’re blind to know what works and what doesn’t or whether there are more effective or cost-effective ways to achieve the same goals.”

This report is based on an article originally written by Sheri Hall for the Ford School of Public Policy.