Rigorous research

EPI researchers are actively engaged in a variety of research projects, including evaluations of early literacy interventions, COVID-19 impacts on K-12, college readiness and success initiatives, and other education policies aimed at improving outcomes for children into adulthood.

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Leveraging knowledge

Research partnerships

We have established formal research collaborations with a number of state and local education agencies—including in Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Texas, Tennessee, and Boston. We engage in partnerships with researchers at other leading universities as well.
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College Majors and Skills: Evidence From the Universe of Online Job Ads

Higher education institutions play an outsized role in facilitating skill development, yet employers regularly cite a gap between the skills they need and those new college graduates possess. One explanation for this disconnect is that technological change, industrial restructuring, and international trade are continuously evolving the demand for skills in the labor market, but that investment is slow to respond. This project uses the universe of all online job ads paired with data on college course-taking, to study how skill accumulation responds to changes in local skill demand.
Skills, Majors, and Jobs project
Powerful data resources

Michigan Education Data Center (MEDC)

Operated by EPI, MEDC is a secure data clearinghouse that helps researchers use Michigan’s education data to uncover critical insights about children, schools, and educational interventions, ultimately improving outcomes for students. MEDC is part of the Michigan Education Research Institute (MERI), a groundbreaking partnership launched in 2018 between U-M, MSU, the Michigan Department of Education, and the Center for Educational Performance and Information.
Learn more
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