research with consequence
Understanding the effectiveness of school and district reforms requires a targeted research agenda that assesses not just whether reforms improve outcomes, but specifically what kinds of strategies employed by states, districts and schools are most effective, and for whom, when, and where. A comprehensive agenda such as this requires more than a stand-alone research project. Within the structure of a policy lab, we are able to coordinate projects to examine a fuller array of interrelated questions and look at educational issues from multiple angles.
EPIC is honored to work closely with Michigan’s leaders to answer the most pressing education policy questions the state faces.
Teacher Workforce
Teachers are the most important school-based input into students’ educational success. EPIC works closely with state and local policymakers to ensure questions of teacher workforce are infused throughout every research project so students have the opportunity to learn from high-quality educators.
Pandemic Learning
Education faces unprecedented challenges for learning recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Student needs are more varied and in some cases greater. Now states, districts, and schools across the country are grappling with how to accelerate learning to put students back on a trajectory for academic success.
Education Finance
Education is a public good. In Michigan, we come together to support our young people from cradle to career. At EPIC, we believe that our leaders should know how these investments are working and what changes are needed to achieve the outcomes our students deserve.
Literacy Policy
Read by Grade Three is Michigan’s large-scale early literacy and retention policy, which is one of the most consequential education policies in the state to date. EPIC is working with state partners to understand the impact on student outcomes, implementation, and cost effectiveness in real-time as the policy fully takes effect.
Partnership Model
The Partnership Model is Michigan’s strategy to improve outcomes in its lowest performing schools, and a key component of the Top 10 in 10 strategy. The state has turned to EPIC to evaluate these efforts in real-time, providing actionable information to monitor how the policy is working for schools and districts.
explore the research
EPIC Policy Briefs
The Education Policy Innovation Collaborative publishes Policy Briefs on a rolling basis in conjuction with our partners.
The Impact of Coaching on K–3 Literacy Instruction in Michigan
This policy brief examines how early literacy coaching has been implemented under the Read By Grade Three Law and whether it has supported improvements in teachers’ literacy instruction by drawing on data collected across three school years, including 318 hours of observations in 89 classrooms, 1,330 coaching logs, and interviews with 18 ISD early literacy coaches.
The Shifting Landscape of Alternative-Route Teacher Certification in Michigan
This brief examines how the use of Interim Teaching Certificates in Michigan has evolved as alternative-route teacher preparation programs expanded throughout Michigan.
EPIC Working Papers
The Education Policy Innovation Collaborative publishes Working Papers on a rolling basis in conjuction with our partners.
Does Charter School Autonomy Improve Matching of Teacher Attributes With Student Needs?
AUTHORS Jane Arnold Lincove, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Salem Rogers, EPIC, Michigan State University Alex Handler, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Tara Kilbride, EPIC, Michigan State University Katharine O. Strunk, University of PennsylvaniaA...
Do Mid-Career Teacher Trainees Enter and Persist Like Their Younger Peers?
AUTHORS Salem Rogers, EPIC, Michigan State University Jane Arnold Lincove, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyA Working Paper From EPICDo Mid-Career Teacher Trainees Enter and Persist Like Their Younger Peers?July 2024In the context of an ongoing national...
Other publications
EPIC Fact Sheet – Teacher Shortage
A quick resource of the high level findings from the Michigan Teacher Shortage Study: 2026 Report
Michigan English Learners: State-of-the-State
This report documents trends in ELs’ enrollment, reclassification, and academic achievement, as well as educator preparation and funding that supports EL services. It provides the first comprehensive, statewide portrait of Michigan’s English learners (EL) population.
Grow Your Own Teacher Initiatives in Michigan At-A-Glance
Michigan, like other states, is experiencing teacher shortages that are particularly acute in urban and rural areas, which underscores the need for innovative solutions to improve the teacher supply. This primer, reviews a set of recent state-supported GYO teacher initiatives in Michigan.
presentations
EPIC Team shares research findings at the 2026 MAISA Convening
EPIC team members shared research findings from their report on education finance to participants of the 2026 MAISA member meeting.
EPIC Provides Testimony to PreK-12 Senate Appropriations Subcommittee
EPIC team members Madeline Mavrogordato and Jason Burns provided Testimony to the Michigan Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on PreK-12
EPIC shares research findings at 2025 TeachMi EmpowerED Fall Session
Presenting at the TeachMi EmpowerED Fall 2025 session, Jason Burns, Matthew Guzman, and Madeline Mavrogordato discussed funding Michigan’s future with evidence from EPIC’s K-12 finance report.
Traditional and Alternative Pathways Through Michigan’s Teacher Pipeline
At a recent quarterly meeting of the Directors and Representatives of Teacher Education Programs (DARTEP), Tara Kilbride and Salem Rogers presented findings from their studies on the Michigan teacher pipeline.
Education Policy Perspectives: Michigan COVID Learning Recovery and Teacher Workforce Studies
Presenting to the Education Policy Leadership Program, Madeline Mavrogordato and Tara Kilbride discussed perspectives on Michigan COVID learning recovery and teacher workforce studies.
