Anna Erickson

The Michigan Department of Education selected the Youth Policy Lab to conduct a study of Michigan’s current system of education governance and provide recommendations about ways to improve educational outcomes for Michigan’s students, in line with the state’s strategic goals. The study used a variety of data sources and analytical methods to review key features of education governance in Michigan, including potential school district consolidation, the allocation of authority across different levels of government, school choice, and the state’s school finance system. 

The Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD) coordinates Early Childhood programs from birth to age three within Washtenaw County. These programs include Early On, a program for young children with developmental delays; Early Head Start, a family support program for low-income families with very young children; and Build Up, a program for preschoolers with learning disabilities. The Early Childhood Department is interested in increasing program enrollment for eligible families to ensure that children who could benefit from these programs are served. The Youth Policy Lab is working with th...

High 5s is a small-group math enrichment program, developed at the University of Michigan with the help of MDRC and leading early childhood math experts Doug Clements and Julie Sarama. Participation in the program closed almost a fifth of the achievement gap between low-income children and their peers. Working closely with teachers and schools in Taylor, MI, and New York City, NY, we hope to adapt, expand and then evaluate a more integrated and scalable version of the High 5s program.

With funding from the US Department of Education and Arnold Ventures, the Youth Policy Lab is partnering with MDRC to conduct an evaluation of the Reading Partners program. The three-arm randomized control trial will compare both the Reading Partners traditional in-person tutoring program and their online tutoring program called Reading Partners Connects to a business-as-usual control group. The evaluation will look at both the immediate (one-year) and longer-term (two-to-three year) impacts of Reading Partners tutoring on student reading skills.

Alignment of academic content for grades PreK-3 is considered important among practitioners, policymakers, and educational researchers alike. However, surprisingly little is known about the extent to which alignment across grades, even within schools or districts, actually exists. Using classroom observations and curriculum analysis, we examined the alignment of three widely used elementary math curricula across grades PreK-3. While we found that content is generally aligned across grades, instructional environments and pedagogical practices may not be. Kindergarten in particular, may be poorl...

During the 2021-2022 academic year, YPL partnered with TRAILS (Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students) to examine their Tier 1 Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) program in three rural Colorado school districts. Staff provided overall positive survey feedback, reporting that preparation and delivery times were reasonable, students were engaged, and the materials were suitable for their age group. Students in grades 6-12 were also surveyed to assess various Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) competencies and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) coping skills. Althoug...

When early high-quality math instruction is aligned across grades, it can have a positive effect on children’s math skills, attitudes toward math, and working memory. However, evidence-based pre-K learning trajectories and instructional practices are not typically integrated into the curriculum for the early elementary grades. This lack of integration can have negative results: Children may encounter the same content more than once from pre-K to kindergarten through third grade. Conversely, the math instruction they receive may not cover the areas or progression of learning that research says ...