Publications

Check out YPL’s policy briefs, journal articles, and annual reports.
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Showing 1 - 25 of 48 results
Report

An Overview of Home Visiting Referrals in Michigan

December 20, 2024
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Dipita Das, Sara Elhasan
Michigan’s home-visiting programs aim to support families by promoting healthy pregnancies and providing caregivers with the tools, information, and resources needed to create a safe and nurturing environment for their child’s development. These...
A toddler runs towards her mother.
Journal Article

The Alignment of P–3 Math Instruction

October 30, 2024
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Mimi Engel, Robin Tepper Jacob, Anna Erickson, Shira Mattera, Danielle Shaw Attaway, Amy Claessens
Preschool through third grade (P–3) alignment is regularly named as a key aspect of early childhood education and the transition to formal schooling. However, little is known about P–3 alignment in practice. Using data from 265 observations of math...
an elementary student writing on paper solving a math problem
Report

Inequities in CTE Access in Washtenaw County

July 20, 2024
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Brian Jacob, Jeremy Guardiola
This report is a continuation of the Youth Policy Lab’s (YPL) examination of access to career and technical education (CTE) programming. Whereas our 2022 policy brief titled How Access to CTE Varies Across Michigan Schools and Students analyzed this...
a student using virtual reality headset to operate a piece of equipment
Annual Report

Youth Policy Lab 2023 Annual Report

July 1, 2024
Thank you to the dear friends and partners who have collaborated and followed Youth Policy Lab on our journey from our launch back in 2016. Throughout our existence, we have dedicated ourselves to understanding the needs and challenges of our...
Journal Article

Understanding Heterogeneous Patterns of Family Engagement With Educational Technology to Inform School-Family Communication in Linguistically Diverse Communities

April 4, 2024
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Catherine Asher, Ethan Scherer, James S. Kim, Johanna Norshus Tvedt
We leveraged log data from an educational app and two-way text message records from over 3,500 students during the summers of 2019 and 2020 and in-depth interviews in Spanish and English to identify patterns of family engagement with educational...
young students using computers in class
Journal Article

Variation in Mathematics Content Coverage, Instructional Grouping, and Representational Strategies: An Analysis of Three US Kindergarten Mathematics Textbooks

December 25, 2023
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Katja Robinson, Deb Hubbard, Robin Tepper Jacob, Anna Erickson, Mini Engel
This study explores how three widely used US kindergarten mathematics textbooks, each written to align with the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM), vary in terms of content coverage, instructional grouping, and use of...
a student calculating additions on whiteboard
Annual Report

Youth Policy Lab 2022 Annual Report

February 2, 2023
"As we look ahead to 2023, we’re excited to continue working with you to build a better future for youth, families, and communities in Michigan and...
Report

How Access to CTE Varies Across Michigan Schools and Students

December 15, 2022
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Brian Jacob, Jeremy Guardiola
Despite much attention paid to the issue, educational inequality remains a consequential source of injustice in our society. For example, students of color and economically disadvantaged students are more likely to be taught by less qualified, lower...
Journal Article

Economics of Foster Care

April 30, 2022
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Anthony Bold, Joseph J. Doyle Jr., Max Gross, Brian Jacob
Foster care provides substitute living arrangements to protect maltreated children. The practice is remarkably common: it is estimated that 5 percent of children in the United States are placed in foster care at some point during childhood. This...
two young children reading a picture book together
Journal Article

Mental Health Needs in a Large Urban School District: Findings from a Web-based Survey

March 15, 2022
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Elizabeth Koschmann, Robin Tepper Jacob, Katja Robinson, Megan Foster Friedman, A. Foster, Natalie Rodriguez-Quintana, Jennifer Vichich, Maureen Smith, Hersheena Rajaram
This study presents new empirical data about the prevalence of youth mental health needs in one large urban district serving substantial numbers of students of color. Students in this district are experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety at...
three high school students sitting in a row and talking with smiles on their faces
Annual Report

Youth Policy Lab 2021 Annual Report

February 1, 2022
Despite all of the continued challenges the Lab and our partners faced in the past year, we are proud of our accomplishments and are excited to share some of them with you in this report. From raising the funds for several new Data & Policy...
Report

School Mental Health in Detroit Public Schools Community District

October 15, 2021
The DPSCD School Mental Health Needs Assessment was conducted with two overarching aims: 1) to more fully understand student mental health and related factors within the DPSCD community; and 2) to inform professional development (PD) opportunities...
a young woman sitting and talking to another person