We constantly hear that the value of a four-year degree is declining. Somehow conventional wisdom has it that since the end of the Great Recession college graduates are not enjoying the wage premium over those with less education than previous…
As readers of this bog know we believe Michigan needs to move away from standardized testing. Anytime we make that case, the first question we get is “what is the alternative?” In a column for Bloomberg entitled Testing Craze Is…
In 2004 Michigan Future published a report on knowledge-based states having higher per capita income than manufacturing-based states. The data showed that the most prosperous states––other than states with lots of oil and natural gas––had four common characteristics: Over concentration…
Michigan Future is a long time supporter of charter schools. But not any charter. Our support has been for quality charter schools, those that are getting breakthrough gains in student outcomes. So we were opposed to the legislation that removed…
The recently released MDRC evaluation of the Detroit Promise underscores the community college completion challenge. Despite adding financial incentives and intensive supports to free tuition, only 29 (five percent) of 390 students who started in the program earned at least…
Governor Whitmer with lots of bi-partisan and business community support has established the goal of 60 percent of Michigan adults having a post- secondary credential by 2030. The Lumina Foundation––which has been at the center of the national effort to…
Imagine extracurriculars being school. That is the theme of a fascinating and important New York Times column by Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine entitled High School Doesn’t Have to Be Boring. (Mehta is an associate professor at the Harvard Graduate…
The story we are told over and over again is for today’s students getting a four-year degree is no longer a good value for many. It may have been for their parents’ generation, but no more. Everything from student loans…
Governor Whitmer's first State of the State address marks a major turning point in the state's approach to improving the well being of Michiganders. One now public investment driven. After nearly three decades of disinvesting in education and infrastructure in…
High schools that understand their mission to be the preparation of students who can be successful in any environment they choose after leaving high school--especially in pursuit of a college degree--also understand that they need data on how their alumni…