Limited literature has investigated the effects of state and institutional merit-based financial aid on student choice of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) major fields, an unintended consequence with important implications. By leveraging nationally representative longitudinal data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students,…

This policy paper estimates the short-run economic effects of the Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP), Michigan's state-funded preschool program for 4-year-olds. The paper considers 15-year effects on state residents' per capita incomes due to impacts on employment rates and real wages, as well as cost-savings from free preschool and fiscal…

This policy paper provides some updated estimates of the short-run fiscal effects of expanding Michigan's state-funded preschool program, the Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP), to encompass universal access for Michigan's four-year-olds. This is an update to Policy Paper No. 2025-034, which analyzed the economic and fiscal effects of Michigan's…

This study investigates how individual states raise revenue to pay for elementary-secondary education spending after a school finance reform (SFR). We consider 24 states that implemented SFRs between 1989 and 2005. Using a synthetic control approach, we identify six case-study states (Arkansas, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, and…

Concerns about the rising cost of college and growing student loan debt have intensified in recent years, with 85% of non-enrolled adults citing affordability as a key barrier (Gallup & Lumina Foundation, 2024) and a third of currently enrolled college students agreeing that their "institution charges too much for an undergraduate…

The longstanding debate over K-12 funding in Michigan has recently intensified. Some point to "record spending" alongside lagging achievement relative to other states; others contend that, once adjusted for inflation, schools remain underfunded. This conversation is important as education is the second largest component of Michigan's…

In the 2020-2021 school year, more than 25 million children and youth -- roughly half of all elementary and secondary students in the United States -- attended schools in school districts that lacked dedicated funding to identify and support students experiencing homelessness. This significant funding gap increases the likelihood that many…

The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) entitles students with disabilities to a free appropriate public education. Students with disabilities often require additional support to enable them to achieve academic and functional goals relative to their nondisabled peers. These legally protected supports and services all add up…

This paper asks whether increasing public school funding can be an effective long-run crime-prevention strategy in the U.S. Specifically, we examine the effect of increases in funding early in children's lives on the likelihood that they are arrested as adults. We exploit quasi-experimental variation in public school funding, leveraging two…

This fact sheet focuses on how adult students in Michigan are accessing, affording, and completing postsecondary credentials. Adult learners are adult individuals, often considered to be aged 25+, who return to education, often at the high school and undergraduate levels. [This fact sheet was prepared with the Michigan Center for Adult College…

As part of its Partnership for Pre-K Improvement (PPI) initiative, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation sponsored the RAND Corporation to study the cost of high-quality pre-K programming. The RAND study included three states--Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington--that were partnering with the foundation under PPI. The objective of the study was to…

As a provision of the Read by Grade Three law in Michigan, the state legislature appropriated funds through Section 35a of the State School Aid Code to assist Intermediate School Districts (ISDs) with employing early literacy coaches. Section 35a also provides funding to the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators Early Literacy…

As a provision of the Read by Grade Three law in Michigan, the state legislature appropriated funds through Section 35a of the State School Aid Code to assist Intermediate School Districts (ISDs) with employing early literacy coaches. Section 35a also provides funding to the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators Early Literacy…

As a provision of the Read by Grade Three law in Michigan, the state legislature appropriated funds through Section 35a of the State School Aid Code to assist Intermediate School Districts (ISDs) with employing early literacy coaches. Section 35a also provides funding to the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators Early Literacy…

As a provision of the Read by Grade Three law in Michigan, the state legislature appropriated funds through Section 35a of the State School Aid Code to assist Intermediate School Districts (ISDs) with employing early literacy coaches. Section 35a also provides funding to the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators Early Literacy…