Want to see in real time what's been happening to public school enrollment in your school district? Through @wheelockpolicybu.bsky.social, we've just released a school enrollment tracker for Massachusetts, allowing you to explore the data yourself. wheelockpolicycenter.org/high-quality...

Massachusetts School Enrollment Dashboard

This interactive dashboard examines the gap between the predicted and actual enrollment in Massachusetts public, private, charter, and home schools.

wheelockpolicycenter.org

🚨New working paper alert! 🚨 The US spends huge $ on special education services for students with disabilities. Is that spending effective? Today we released a working paper suggesting it is. "Special Education Substantially Improves Learning: Evidence from Three States" Let me explain...

In just a few days, WEPC will be at this year’s Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP) Conference in Chicago! Stay tuned for info on the 15+ panels and presentations from our faculty and staff, and check out a full program below. bit.ly/WEPC-AEFP2026 #AEFP2026 @buwheelock.bsky.social

🚨🚨 It's new research week for me on the socials! 🚨🚨 First up, just released today as an NBER working paper: "More Hours, More Work: Head Start Expansions Boost Maternal Employment" with fantastic coauthors Esra Kose and Maria Rosales-Rueda www.nber.org/papers/w34831

"Falling Enrollment Most Extreme in Wealthy Districts" Great writeup @the74.bsky.social on trends in public school enrollment. Public schools will have to work to re-engage the families that no longer see them as offering rigorous learning environments. www.the74million.org/article/fall...

Many public schools are losing students, but some are gaining. Great data crunching from Burbio showing "winners" and "losers". My hot take: several unrelated trends happening at once. Declining birthrates. Shifting migration within US. Some exodus from public schools.

🚨New publication alert #econsky🚨 Thrilled to have “Suspended from Work and School? Impacts of layoff events and unemployment insurance on student disciplinary incidence” forthcoming at Labour Economics with @riacton.bsky.social and Austin Smith Paper thread incoming 🧵 tinyurl.com/susp-ws

Suspended from work and school? Impacts of layoff events and unemployment insurance on student disciplinary incidence

We examine the impact of local labor market shocks and state unemployment insurance (UI) policies on student discipline in U.S. public schools. Analyz…

tinyurl.com

Thrilled that our work on post-pandemic school enrollment shifts made it into @the74.bsky.social's: "12 Charts that Defined Education in 2025" The whole round-up is a fantastic summary of important work that came out this past year, told in pictures. www.the74million.org/article/12-c...

Community college enrollment has been declining since 2009/10. The optimal policy response to this depends on the root of this decline. I'm thrilled @nber.org today released my working paper with Harvard PhD Joe Winkelmann titled: "Labor Market Strength and Declining Community College Enrollment"

Did you catch our webinar on enrollment shifts? A new @EdWeek.org article highlights a core finding: the biggest enrollment declines are in the wealthiest 20% of districts, with little sign of rebound. buff.ly/VkNiNdg

Happening today at 3pm ET / 12pm PT! edworkingpapers.com/webinar-series Be the first to hear who’s joining the new EdWorkingPapers Review Board. The EdExchange isn’t just a repository of research—it’s a hub for connection. 💡 @joshua-goodman.com @abbyfrancis.bsky.social

5 years post-pandemic, Massachusetts public schools have seen sustained enrollment declines. Is this a temporary disruption, or did the pandemic change how families evaluate schools? @joshua-goodman.com, Abigail Francis, & James Wyckoff will dig into the data with Susanna Loeb. buff.ly/dByipCW

Thanks to AV and RSF for funding this work, which started as part of my dissertation (linked below). We're so looking forward to being able to inform the use of informal diversion practices in schools! Lots more to come 🥳 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

journals.sagepub.com

Jennifer Doleac@jenniferdoleac.bsky.social · 9mo ago

So happy to see this first cohort of Russell Sage grants (in partnership with Arnold Ventures), to early-career scholars conducting causal research related to crime/CJ policy. Congrats to all!

Published in Economics of Education Review! Building on @joshua-goodman.com's post, we find public school enrollment declines are concentrated in higher-income districts, middle grades, and among White and Asian students. I hope these findings support discussions on the shifting education landscape.

Joshua Goodman@joshua-goodman.com · 10mo ago

🚨New publication alert🚨 I'm thrilled Economics of Education Review has just published my work w/ @abbyfrancis.bsky.social: "School enrollment shifts five years after the pandemic" Abstract below, but read the next few posts for the story told via a handful of graphs. doi.org/10.1016/j.ec...

📉 Why did student achievement start declining before COVID? How are school enrollment patterns shifting five years after? Join us for our Nov 13 EdWorkingPapers webinar featuring James H. Wyckoff, @abbyfrancis.bsky.social, and @joshua-goodman.com edworkingpapers.com/webinar-series

📢 The votes are in! EdWorkingPapers email subscribers chose papers by James H. Wyckoff, @abbyfrancis.bsky.social, and @joshua-goodman.com to be featured in our next webinar on Nov 13. Find out what the topic will be >> edworkingpapers.com/webinar-series

Want to hear research insights straight from the source, on the issue that matters most to you? 🗳️Sign up to cast your vote and help choose the next #EdWorkingPapers Webinar topic >> mailchi.mp/annenbergins...

BU's "The Brink" today features my work with @abbyfrancis.bsky.social on continuing public school enrollment challenges. I worry about the political implications of this change, as well as the long-term effects on public school reputations. www.bu.edu/articles/202...

Today's @bostonglobe.com features our recent @wheelockpolicybu.bsky.social working paper on school enrollment trends in MA and US-wide. @abbyfrancis.bsky.social notes some of this is driven by "increased behavioral issues, especially in middle school years." www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/04/m...

Want to know how the pandemic has reshaped school enrollment patterns in Massachusetts and nationwide? Here's Education Next's quick and accessible version of our recent working paper: www.educationnext.org/school-enrol... @abbyfrancis.bsky.social @educationnext.bsky.social

My recent article with @joshua-goodman.com on Massachusetts school enrollment shifts was discussed on the Education Gadfly Show! They also highlight @aefplivehandbook.bsky.social, a resource full of rigorous work in education policy. Highly recommend the listen! fordhaminstitute.org/national/res...

#976: A new hub for smarter education policy, with Doug Harris

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Doug Harris, director of the National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH), joins us to discuss a new website aimed at advancing evidence-based education policy and supporting more effective decision-making in schools. Then, on the Research Minute, Meredith Coffey examines new data from Massachusetts that reveal lasting post-pandemic shifts in school enrollment, particularly in the middle grades and in higher-income districts. Recommended content: “AEFP Live Handbook of Education Policy Research” —Association for Education Finance & Policy (AEFP) “School Enrollment Shifts Five Years After the Pandemic” —Abigail Francis and Joshua Goodman, EdWorkingPapers (June 2025) “Analyzing homeschooling demographics and families’ definitions of student success” —Jeff Murray, Thomas B. Fordham Institute “Fixing IES” —Chester E. Finn, Jr., Thomas B. Fordham Institute Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.

fordhaminstitute.org

Last week just-out work by @joshua-goodman.com & @abbyfrancis.bsky.social was featured on the @educationnext.bsky.social podcast. Listen for interesting convo of key insights and implications. www.educationnext.org/the-educatio... Full policy brief at: wheelockpolicycenter.org/high-quality...

Interested in recent changes in public school enrollment patterns but don't have time to read? Here's the podcast version, via @educationnext.bsky.social: Apple podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e... Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/26fO... SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/education-ex...

The Education Exchange: Public School Enrollments Down 2 Percent Since 2020

Paul E. Peterson interviews Joshua Goodman, Associate Professor of Education and Economics at Boston University

educationnext.org

Excited to share my joint work with @joshua-goodman.com on K-12 enrollment patterns in Massachusetts. Five years after the pandemic began, we're seeing persistent enrollment losses in public schools, especially in the middle school years-trends that mirror what's happening nationally. Check it out!

Joshua Goodman@joshua-goodman.com · last yr.

🔥What’s the only thing hotter than this week’s weather?🔥 Our new @wheelockpolicybu.bsky.social working paper: “School Enrollment Shifts Five Years After the Pandemic” In it, BU Wheelock PhD @abbyfrancis.bsky.social and I ask: Has the pandemic permanently changed families' schooling choices?

Last week, I presented on MA K-12 public school enrollment trends at the 'Thriving in the Middle School Years' forum hosted by @buwheelock.bsky.social. Very thankful for thoughtful conversations with teachers, parents, and community members! @joshua-goodman.com @wheelockpolicybu.bsky.social

#AEFP2025 has been quite a success. We're really proud of and excited by the work and thoughtful engagement in policy-relevant, rigorous research on display by all of our @buwheelock.bsky.social faculty, students, WEPC alumni, staff and partners. Thanks for a wonderful few days!

Objective, comprehensive, rigorous, timely, and useful: A digital hub for evidence-based education policy research. #EdResearch #EdPolicy livehandbook.org

Evidence-Based Education Policy Research | Live Handbook

Explore evidence-based education policy research at our digital hub. Access data-driven insights to improve learning outcomes and shape effective policies.

livehandbook.org

@buwheelock.bsky.social at AEFP is off to a great start with a special pre-conference dinner with faculty, students and alumni.

AERA and COPAFS have issued a statement on the sudden termination of 169 contracts within IES, including those that NCES holds for the collection and reporting of education statistics. Read the full statement: www.aera.net/Newsroom/AER...

AERA and COPAFS Statement on the New Administration’s Sudden Termination of National Center for Education Statistics Contracts

AERA and COPAFS Statement on the New Administration’s Sudden Termination of National Center for Education Statistics Contracts

aera.net