William Schmidt

William Schmidt is a University Distinguished Professor, founder and director of the Center for the Study of Curriculum and director of the Education Policy Center. He also holds faculty appointments in measurement and quantitative methods and in the Department of Statistics. His writing and research focuses on issues of academic content in K-12 schooling, the effects of curriculum on academic achievement, assessment and educational policy related to mathematics, science and testing in general. He joined MSU in 1969.

Schmidt has published in numerous journals, including the Journal of American Statistical Association, Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics and Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis.

His books include Teacher Education Matters, Inequality for All and the edited volume International Perspectives on Teacher Knowledge, Beliefs and Opportunities to Learn.

He is a member of the National Academy of Education, an American Educational Research Association (AERA) Fellow, director of the AERA Institute on Statistical Analysis and an OECD Thomas J. Alexander Fellow for education quality and equity.

Authored Blog Posts

Title	Authored on
The Gap Between Policy and Practice: Where Textbooks Fail Teachers	Jul 25, 2022
PISA And TIMSS: A Distinction Without A Difference?	Dec 04, 2014
The Global Relationship Between Classroom Content And Unequal Educational Outcomes	Jul 29, 2014
K-12 Standardized Testing Craze Hinders Enthusiasm And Creativity For The Long Haul	Mar 14, 2011

Recent Blog Posts

Publications

The Adequacy and Fairness of State School Finance Systems (Sixth Edition)
A national evaluation of the K-12 school finance systems of all 50 states and D.C., published by researchers from the Albert Shanker Institute, University of Miami, and Rutgers Graduate School of Education.
Reading Reform Across America: A Survey of State Legislation
This report authored by Susan B. Neuman (New York University), Esther Quintero (Albert Shanker Institute), and Kayla Reist (University of Virginia), examines reading-related state legislation enacted between 2019 and 2022.
The Source Code: Revenue Composition and the Adequacy, Equity, and Stability of K-12 School Spending
A national analysis of the relationship between K-12 revenue composition—that is, the percentage of funding that comes from state versus local sources—and the adequacy, equity, and stability of school spending.

Blog Archives

Our Mission

The Albert Shanker Institute, endowed by the American Federation of Teachers and named in honor of its late president, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to three themes - excellence in public education, unions as advocates for quality, and freedom of association in the public life of democracies. With an independent Board of Directors (composed of educators, business representatives, labor leaders, academics, and public policy analysts), its mission is to generate ideas, foster candid exchanges, and promote constructive policy proposals related to these issues.

This blog offers informal commentary on the research, news, and controversies related to the work of the Institute.