“One of the Center’s primary goals is to enhance the development of evidence-based policies to improve academic and economic outcomes for Virginia’s—and the nation’s—students.”
-JAMES WYCKOFF, PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION AND PUBLIC POLICY, AND DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER ON EDUCATION POLICY AND WORKFORCE COMPETITIVENESS
The Center’s mission is to “inform the design of education policy targeted to improving educational outcomes and the economic competitiveness of American workers in an increasingly globalized world,” said Harry Harding, dean of the Batten School. “This is very much in line with the Batten School’s vision of focusing on the ways in which globalization is reshaping the American public policy agenda.
“We believe that the Center is distinctive in at least two ways: as a joint venture between a school of education and a school of public policy, and as a Center that connects issues of education policy and workforce competitiveness.”
“One of the Center’s primary goals is to enhance the development of evidence-based policies to improve academic and economic outcomes for Virginia’s—and the nation’s—students,” said James Wyckoff, Professor of Education and Public Policy, and Director of the Center.
The Center provides an intellectual home where students and faculty share and develop their interests in education through mentorship, for research grants and policy outreach efforts, and a biweekly seminar series that allows faculty and graduate students to present their research.
A national research revolution
In the wake of standardized testing mandated by the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, many states established systems to better track student performance from third grade through high school. Some states are now linking that information to data on enrollments and graduation from universities, community colleges, and technical schools, bridging the traditional divide between K-12 and higher education.
A few states are going even further by following students into the workforce, with information on employment history and salaries creating detailed pictures of people’s trajectory from kindergarten into the workforce.
These longitudinal data sets are serving as the backbone of a new wave of research, Wyckoff said, and will become even more useful and powerful when researchers connect it with the results of other surveys and studies that are making headway in identifying factors that contribute to differences in education outcomes.
Educators and policymakers are just starting to realize and utilize the power of such studies, Wyckoff said. “The launch of the Center is perfectly aligned with initiatives from the Obama administration investing in states’ capacities to pull together state data systems to better inform policymaking,” said Bob Pianta, dean of the Curry School.
However, the new availability of these longitudinal data also presents its own challenges. “What’s extraordinarily important in all this is that we don’t become data-rich and information-poor,” Pianta said. “A Center like this can really help states analyze and synthesize the data that they do collect.”
Interdisciplinary connection
“A Center like this can really help states analyze and synthesize the data that they do collect.”
-BOB PIANTA, DEAN OF THE CURRY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
Interdisciplinary research is necessary to inform education leaders on many important policy issues, including: collegiate attainment and workforce development; access and retention of underprivileged populations in higher education; the impact of various accountability systems; teacher preparation, effectiveness, and retention; and the design of an effective system of pre-kindergarten education.
“People at the Center span a wide variety of research areas,” Wyckoff highlighted, “but we all share a commitment to rigorous research to inform those questions.”
Sarah Turner, University Professor of Economics & Education and Associate Director of the Center, and Caroline Hoxby, of Stanford University, administered and evaluated four interventions through a project on “Improving College Choices for Low-Income, High-Achieving Students: Evaluation of a Random Assignment.” The project measured whether providing informational and financial supports increased application to selective colleges by qualified low-income students.
Turner’s and Hoxby’s research found that students who received the intervention submitted 48 percent more applications than those who did not, and they were 56 percent more likely to apply to a “peer” institution—where other students also have high grades and instruction is geared toward people like them. The students were 78 percent more likely to be admitted by a peer institution and 46 percent more likely to enroll in a peer institution. The intervention caused students to enroll in colleges with 26 percent greater instructional resources. “Many don’t know that for low-income students, the net price actually may go down as the sticker price goes up,” Turner said.
The wide range of policy issues considered permits students affiliated with the Center to engage in rigorous, impactful research projects early on in their careers. Veronica Katz (MPP ’13) is collaborating with Center faculty member Daniel Player on a “School Improvement in Ohio and Missouri: An Evaluation of the School Turnaround Specialist Program” working paper. They are seeking empirical evidence of what participation in a school turnaround program has on all students, in addition to those at the margin of proficiency. Katz presented their preliminary findings at the Association for Education Finance and Policy conference this March.
Accomplished and prolific
Faculty affiliated with the Center pursue research across a broad range of topic areas, covering every phase of the education and workforce preparedness spectrum. They’re driven by policy issues and eager to abandon academic silos, as reflected in the numerous joint appointments they hold with other schools at the University. They’re published and accomplished—a combination of the sharpest minds at U.Va. and those from some of the best research institutions in the country.
Ranked in the top 10 among education policy programs in the country by U.S. News & World Report, the Center’s education policy program offers intensive study for students passionate about the education system and the policy avenues available to pursue and implement long-lasting change.
“It is a remarkable but not surprising accomplishment that our education policy program was recognized by peers as among the top 10 in the country,” noted Pianta. “Our faculty in this area are absolutely first rate and the training students receive here is second to none in terms of quality of mentorship and opportunities for working at the intersection of rigorous research and real-world policy decisions. It’s a great credit to all involved.”
The national recognition of the education policy program and the work at CEPWC is all the more impressive, given the youth of the program and Center. “In less than five years we have developed our PhD program and moved to among the top 10 in the U.S.,” said Wyckoff. “This reflects the talents and concerted efforts of faculty and students from Curry and across the University to develop a collaborative environment focused on high quality scholarship.”
