Joshua Goodman

Sep 30

Professor, Boston University

Dr. Joshua Goodman is a professor of education and of economics at Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, where he works on the economics of education policy. He is also director of the master’s in educational policy studies program. His research applies causal inference methods to large quantitative data sets, to provide rigorous evidence on the impacts of education policies. His work focuses on a variety of education policy issues, including: the determinants and consequences of college choice; the effects of secondary math coursework; the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on public schools; and the role of stressors in student learning. Much of his policy-related work is done as a faculty affiliate of the Wheelock Educational Policy Center (WEPC).

Professor Goodman spent the 2022–23 academic year on leave from BU Wheelock to serve as a senior economist on the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers. Before he joined BU, he was a faculty member at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and at Brandeis University. Previously, Professor Goodman was a public high school math teacher in Watertown, Massachusetts, before starting his PhD.

Professor Goodman’s work has been published in peer-reviewed outlets such as the Quarterly Journal of Economics, Amerian Economic Review: Insights, and the Journal of Labor Economics. It has been cited in multiple White House reports and featured by the New York Times, the Washington Post, and National Public Radio. He serves as co-editor of the Journal of Human Resources and is an affiliate of NBER, CESifo, and IZA. He is on the board of directors of the Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP). He co-authored a 2023 National Academies of Sciences report on helping children recover from the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on educational outcomes.

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K-12, Educational opportunity

Air Pollution and Learning

K-12, Educational opportunity

A policy brief highlighting new findings on the negative effects of air pollution on school learning and the discrepancy in who bears the brunt of the effects.

K-12, Educational opportunity

K-12, Special education, Educational opportunity

Special Education Substantially Improves Learning: Evidence from Three States

K-12, Special education, Educational opportunity

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 supports substantially increase learning productivity.

K-12, Special education, Educational opportunity

Postsecondary, College access & affordability, College enrollment, Educational opportunity

Early Returns: Reversing Enrollment Declines in Massachusetts Community Colleges through MassReconnect

Postsecondary, College access & affordability, College enrollment, Educational opportunity

Analysis of Massachusetts MassReconnect free community college program. Evaluates enrollment impact, student demographics, financial aid distribution, and persistence rates for free tuition initiative targeting adults 25+. Policy brief for states considering free college programs.

Postsecondary, College access & affordability, College enrollment, Educational opportunity

Postsecondary, College enrollment, Educational opportunity

Declining Community College Enrollment & Labor Market Strength

Postsecondary, College enrollment, Educational opportunity

Declining U.S. college enrollments have triggered questions about the health of the postsecondary sector. This project examines national data collected through the Department of Education's Institute for Education Sciences to better understand shifts in the sector and help situate trends within the context of broader economic and labor market context.

Postsecondary, College enrollment, Educational opportunity

K-12, COVID-19 impacts, School enrollment, Educational opportunity

School Enrollment Shifts Five Years After the Pandemic

K-12, COVID-19 impacts, School enrollment, Educational opportunity

This research documents the changes in public school enrollment in one state and highlights shifts that may have broader implications for American schools.

K-12, COVID-19 impacts, School enrollment, Educational opportunity

The Stickiness of Pandemic-Driven Disenrollment from Public Schools

K-12, COVID-19 impacts, School enrollment, Educational opportunity

Using data from Michigan and nationally representative data, authors show how the pandemic affected families’ choices of school sector.

K-12, COVID-19 impacts, School enrollment, Educational opportunity

K-12, STEM, Educational opportunity

Ability Signals and Rigorous Coursework: Evidence from AP Calculus Participation

K-12, STEM, Educational opportunity

The study examines how one signal of ability—whether a student achieves “Advanced” status on Massachusetts’ 10th grade statewide standardized assessment—effects subsequent enrollment in Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus courses. Short answer: it does, but not equally.

K-12, STEM, Educational opportunity

K-12, COVID-19 impacts, School enrollment, Educational opportunity

The Pandemic’s Effect on Demand for Public Schools, Homeschooling, and Private Schools

K-12, COVID-19 impacts, School enrollment, Educational opportunity

Using data from Michigan and nationally representative data, authors show how the pandemic affected families’ choices of school sector.

K-12, COVID-19 impacts, School enrollment, Educational opportunity

K-12, COVID-19 impacts, Virtual learning

The COVID-19 Pandemic Disrupted Both School Bullying and Cyberbullying

K-12, COVID-19 impacts, Virtual learning

As COVID-19 disrupted in-person schooling, researchers examined changing bullying patterns using data from Google internet searches.

K-12, COVID-19 impacts, Virtual learning

Educational opportunity, K-12, COVID-19 impacts, Virtual learning

Inequality in Household Adaptation to Schooling Shocks: COVID-19 Induced Online Learning Engagement in Real Time

Educational opportunity, K-12, COVID-19 impacts, Virtual learning

Researchers analyzed internet search trends on school and parent-centered instructional resources during the pandemic.

Educational opportunity, K-12, COVID-19 impacts, Virtual learning

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