What could an ambitious state EITC mean for Michigan families?
Every year, the US Census Bureau publishes estimates of the poverty rate in the U.S. There is the official poverty measure (OPM), which is what we use to determine eligibility for government assistance, and the supplemental poverty measure (SPM), which takes into account the impact of various social safety-net programs on overall poverty. The SPM […]
Expanding Michigan’s Earned Income Tax Credit can combat benefit cliffs
The appropriate size and scope of our social safety-net has long been a matter of disagreement between politicians, researchers, and advocates on the left and right. But one thing that seemingly everyone can agree on is that no matter how generous or meager our safety-net is, it should be devoid of so-called benefit “cliffs,” and […]
A 21st Century Education – Technology Not Required
This post originally ran in February 2017. We are rerunning it because of its relevance to the discussion we should be having about what post-pandemic education should looks like for all students. Whether in school or learning at home. Nearly everyone agrees – students today require a 21st century education. Defining what a 21st century […]
Social and emotional learning focuses on how kids are actually doing
Test scores have become the sole fixation of our education system. At least since the passage of No Child Left Behind in 2001, states, districts, schools, principals, teachers, and students have been labeled successful or failing based on the single, narrow criteria of how well they perform on tests measuring basic math and reading skills. […]
All you need to know about student loan defaults in two graphs
Earlier this year, I wrote a post breaking down newly released federal data on the student loan “crisis.” There were two big lessons that came from this data: (1) Stay away from for-profit colleges. The number of students who take out loans at these institutions and eventually default is incredibly high, even if they earn […]
Medicaid work requirements reduce opportunity for Michigan families
In our 2018 state policy agenda, we write that the state needs a strong social safety net in order to promote opportunity for Michigan families. Last week, Michigan’s Senate Republicans took a step towards cutting another large hole in that safety net, diminishing opportunity for Michigan’s working families. How this bill will fail to promote […]
A better way to help students pay for college
Tuition-free college is having a moment. States across the country are offering tuition-free programs at their community colleges. And last year New York State began the largest tuition-free program in the country, making all two- and four-year colleges tuition-free for families earning under $125,000. While this all sounds great, it’s actually not the best policy […]
How important are standardized test scores to life outcomes?
Last week, the Equality of Opportunity Project, led by Stanford economist Raj Chetty, released another study in their ongoing series on mobility in America. This one was particularly sobering. The headline: black males raised in wealthy households (the top quintile of household incomes), are more likely to be poor as adults than they are to […]
The real message from the Marshall Plan for Talent? Get a four-year degree
The Marshall Plan for Talent came with an implicit message to Michigan high school students: four-year degrees aren’t necessary to get ahead in tomorrow’s economy. Billed as a revolutionary approach to education, Governor Snyder envisions a competency-based system heavy on short-term credentials and light on four-year degrees. In an interview with Crain’s about the plan […]
The powerful myth of the young, unemployed BA
It passes for conventional wisdom these days that there’s a large mass of young college graduates (those with a four-year degree or more) who can’t find a job. Everyone seems to have a story about a friend of a friend whose son or daughter got a fancy degree from a fancy university, but is now […]