Subgroup Effects, Compositional Effects, and Treatment Effect Heterogeneity in the What Works Clearinghouse Study Data Education researchers are increasingly interested in understanding “what works” for whom and under what conditions, often through analyses of subgroup findings. Yet such findings are frequently rep...

New paper from me and Chris Klager. While at the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), one question came up repeatedly: are educational programs differentially effective for different subgroups? The short answer: some subgroup effects may be real, but caution is needed. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Reupping this because it's probably the most exciting result from a higher ed RCT at MDRC in 5+ years and it got almost no traction yesterday

Colleges and states are looking for strategies to reengage "some college no degree" students

These early findings suggest we've found an effective approach!

Join us and @newamerica.org on 4/21 for a conversation about the role of higher ed as the fifth pillar of democracy and how building a durable defense for the sector requires embedding that principle in law, institutional culture, and the public imagination.

Learn more and register: bit.ly/4tawBV9

Presidential Essay: AEFP’s Role in an Evidence-Informed Education Ecosystem Historically, the U.S. federal government has invested in education research as a public good, with the implicit assumption that such research can support more efficient and effective educational oppo...

Presidential Essay: @aefpweb.bsky.social's Role in an Evidence-Informed Education Ecosystem via @efpjournal.bsky.social
direct.mit.edu/edfp/article...

Democrats seek to overturn Trump's new rules for student loan forgiveness Democrats in Congress are trying to overturn the Trump administration's changes to a student loan forgiveness program.

Senate Democrats introduced a resolution to overturn Trump's executive order barring loan forgiveness for borrowers who work at an employer that supports undocumented immigrants or transgender youth

apnews.com/article/publ...

A longer report will come out later this year including reenrollment findings for both cohorts

We'll also be looking at effects on degree completion in the future

Bar graph showing the reenrollment rates for program and control group students--21% and 11%, respectively--a difference of almost 10 percentage points

New RCT findings from MDRC on a program to reenroll stopped-out community college students within 15 credits of a degree

The program, REACT, includes outreach, advising, and tuition waivers

Early findings show it nearly doubled reenrollment, from 11% to 21%

www.mdrc.org/sites/defaul...

There are a lot of dystopian things these days, but the worst might be that McDonald's Play Places are now just tablets attached to the wall

Rebuilding IES to amplify the impact of education research on student outcomes | Brookings Leaders of AEFP discuss the state of education policy research and the future of the Institute of Education Sciences.

Reflecting on #AEFP2026: @dbassok.bsky.social, Michal & I talk about the amazing work the @aefpweb.bsky.social community is doing 💗

Many thanks to the @brookings.edu team, especially Jon Valant, @rachelmarisa.bsky.social & Mike Hansen for helpful feedback.

www.brookings.edu/articles/reb...

Utah approves tuition, fee increases at public colleges and universities The Utah Board of Higher Education approved tuition and fee increases at all eight of the state’s public colleges and universities, raising costs for students

Anyone else see stories about tuition increases and think to themselves "good--these students will now get a better education, be more likely to graduate, and probably be better off in the long-run despite a slight increase in monthly student loan payments"?

kutv.com/news/eye-on-...

One of the few things that still manages to shock me is that the President and Vice-President *openly and directly* praise an authoritarian leader and talk about their desire to follow in his footsteps

A good reminder of why higher education matters beyond individual ROI

For sure not a guarantee ED will spend the funds, but I don't think this budget proposal changes my impression of the likelihood of that happening

The president wants to cut annual funding to IES from $800 million to $260 million

But I think you should pay very little attention to budget proposals from a president with a 40% approval rating in an election year--especially proposals that Congress already rejected last year

Inflation is 2.4% but he promised deflation

I think the poor poll numbers reflect the delta between inflation and the expectations he set with voters

We now know how many people work at NCES: 13 (12 full-time).

That's down from about 100 FTEs pre-DOGE.

This info comes from ED's response to the ACTS lawsuit, because you can't spell transparency without lawsuit (or something like that).

Yeah, I caught that (I'm sure totally unintentional) sleight of hand

I would be willing to bet my savings a bill that cuts state funding by almost 50% at multiple institutions will not become law

"They do it not because they expect it to survive a legal challenge—in lots of these cases, by the time the courts decide, they overturn their policies—but because they know in the interim it will scare institutions into proactively complying,” Fansmith said.

"Your student loan servicer will contact you about your specific deadline to choose a different repayment plan. Once you hear from your loan servicer, you will have 90 days to choose another repayment plan. This gives you ample time to select the plan that works best for you. Our newest repayment plans—the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) and Tiered Standard Plan—will be available starting on July 1, 2026. For many borrowers, RAP may be the best option. All borrowers currently enrolled in the SAVE Plan will have the opportunity to enroll in RAP. Like other income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, RAP will offer an affordable monthly payment based on your income and number of dependents. Many borrowers will also qualify for monthly payment matching, which includes interest subsidies and principal reductions that could reduce your student loan balance. Most importantly, under RAP, and unlike some of the other IDR plans, your balance can never go up as long as you make your required monthly payments."

Just received this email from ED about switching off the SAVE repayment plan

To my eye, this reads as trying to sell RAP over the other IDR plans--even though RAP will not be the best option for everyone

Not here to defend Tyler Cowen's quote, but anyone who doesn't think there's a role for economics in education policy (or climate change) does not understand economics, particularly microeconomics

a man with blue paint on his face stands in front of a crowd with the word hold on the bottom right Alt: a man with blue paint on his face stands in front of a crowd with the word "hold" on the bottom left (from the movie Braveheart)

Me to my neighbors re: mowing our lawns for the first time this year

The protagonist in Artemis was a Muslim woman but he weirdly gave her the same personality as all his white male protagonists

Jay Powell 2028

Jay Powell 2028

Urged to speak out, education researchers face a high-stakes choice At a March 2026 education research conference, an emissary from the Trump administration urged the audience to become stronger champions for their cause.

Something I've thought about a lot since last March: the case for education policy research needs to be taken directly to voters and politicians

And I don't think people within the research community are the right ones to do that

hechingerreport.org/proof-points...

I'm going to have to move to a new repayment plan for all of 1-2 months before requesting a PSLF buyback

List from an ED press release including examples of colleges that have implemented new scholarships

Color me skeptical of this "evidence" from an ED press release that the loan provisions of OBBBA are making college more affordable

(Note: some of these examples predate OBBBA!)

654. The Ku Klux Klan: The Rise of Evil (Part 1) Spotify video

My mind was blown by this history podcast explaining the Ku Klux Klan's early structure was heavily influenced by college fraternities, including the rituals, the titles, and even the name

open.spotify.com/episode/3kHu...

So, it looks like public universities in the states that filed the case *and only those states* will have until April 6 to complete ACTS. The judge will decide by April 2 or 3 whether or not to issue a preliminary injunction that will spare public universities in the 17 states from completing ACTS.