Research
In partnership with state and local education agencies, education service providers, and non-profit organizations, WEPC researchers study the efficacy of educational policies and practices in order to improve opportunities and holistic outcomes for traditionally marginalized students. WEPC’s research areas are concerned with equalizing educational opportunity. studying the efficacy of specialized services, and progressing the education workforce.
Research Areas
Equalizing Educational Opportunity
Disparities in student opportunities and outcomes from kindergarten through higher education are shaped by a complex set of school, community, governance, and non-education sector factors. WEPC researchers evaluate the impact of policies and practices both within and outside of schools on student educational and life outcomes.
Specialized Services
In many cases, students with specialized needs, such as English language learners and students with disabilities, are not receiving the supports they need to succeed academically. WEPC researchers leverage large-scale administrative datasets and rigorous causal research designs to evaluate the efficacy of policies and commonly used practices targeted for these students who benefit from targeted supports.
Effective Educators
Schools are only as effective as the teachers, administrators, and staff working within them. WEPC researchers seek to better understand the educator pipeline and to measure the impact of policies designed to improve the education workforce, from teacher preparation to professional development to increasing the diversity of the education profession.
Featured Papers
Guardrails or Barriers
How changes afoot in teacher licensure could help settle decades-long debatesChange is afoot with teacher licensure. In almost every state we know of, there is a conversation happening about the requirements that determine who can become a teacher. But not all states are moving in the same direction. The shifting sands of teacher licensure offer a good opportunity to revisit old debates about the efficacy of licensure requirements and highlight a significant problem: the current state of...
Massachusetts School Leader Workforce – Annual Snapshots
Project Summary Led by Dr. Olivia Chi, WEPC is partnering with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to study the characteristics, career trajectories, and outcomes of principals and assistant principals in public schools. These snapshots illustrate key facts and figures about the Massachusetts school leader workforce in 2023, 2024, and 2025, providing policy-relevant insights for the state and setting a foundation for future research and inquiry.Project Resources...
Special Education Substantially Improves Learning: Evidence from Three States
Authors: Stephanie Coffey, Joshua Goodman, Amy Ellen Schwartz, Leanna Stiefel, Marcus A. Winters, Yunee H. Yoon Project Summary Special education serves more than one in seven U.S. students, yet its causal impact remains understudied. In this paper, we estimate the effect of individualized supports with an event-study design that tracks achievement around initial classification. The research shows students’ scores decline prior to placement and rise sharply afterward. Overall, individualized...