Education Policy
A message from Jonathan Guryan, program chair
Failing public schools, tumbling U.S. student achievement, declining school funding, persistent achievement gaps, and recruiting and retaining effective teachers are just a few of the critical issues that school districts across the nation face every day. More rigorous research is needed to understand the issues facing schools and educators and to create effective solutions to address them.
How do smaller classes and better teachers affect student achievement and outcomes? Does having a college education mean that a person will live longer and in better health? Which education interventions are most effective in terms of costs and achievement? These are just some of the issues that IPR education policy researchers address in their quest to create a larger pool of rigorous research and policy-relevant solutions for the pressing problems in education faced by teachers, students, parents, taxpayers, and policymakers.
Recent Research
Find out more about faculty research that dissects a variety of issues linked to dropouts and truancy, achievement gaps, student testing, school accountability, and college attendance.
Working Papers and Publications
Recently published articles and working papers in this program area include:
- Jackson, C. K. 2012. School competition and teacher labor markets: Evidence from charter school entry in North Carolina. Journal of Public Economics 96(5-6): 431-48.
- Sass, T., J. Hannaway, Z. Xu, D. Figlio, and L. Feng. 2012. Value added of teachers in high-poverty schools and lower poverty schools. Journal of Urban Economics 72(2-3): 104-22.
- Nurnberg, P., M. Schapiro, and D. Zimmerman. 2012. Students choosing colleges: Understanding the matriculation decision at a highly selective private institution. Economics of Education Review 31(1): 1-8.
Faculty Experts
Faculty consider issues associated with education from different vantage points that include economics, sociology, psychology, biomedical sciences, and quantitative research methods. Learn more about them through their bios, research, and publications.
