Michael Christian

Michael_Christian
Michael Christian
Principal Researcher,
Education Analytics

Michael Christian is principal researcher at Education Analytics, a nonprofit data science and research startup in Madison, Wisconsin. He previously worked as an assistant scientist at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research and the Value-Added Research Center (VARC) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His work at VARC focused on developing and estimating value-added models in a wide range of school districts as well as a number of state educational agencies. He has worked as a staff economist at the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department of Commerce. He has extensive experience providing technical assistance for districts and states participating in the Teacher Incentive Fund. Christian received a PhD in economics from the University of Michigan.

updated 2025

Contributing topics
Educational governance & policy
Educator workforce & effectiveness
Supporting students’ social-emotional, mental & physical health
Understanding, measuring & improving student outcomes
Contributing initiatives
CORE-PACE Research Partnership
COVID-19 Recovery
Commentary by Michael Christian
: COVID-19 and the Educational Equity Crisis: Evidence on Learning Loss From the CORE Data Collaborative
Michael Christian in the Media
: COVID-19 Impacts on Student Learning: Evidence from Interim Assessments in California
: Coronavirus Today: A Life-Or-Death Social Experiment
: Coronavirus: California Data Show Substantial Learning Loss, Inequity
: Initial Data for California Confirm Early Grades, Low-Income Children Hit Hardest by 'Learning Loss'
: Will California Campuses Reopen This School Year? It Depends on Vaccinating Teachers, Infection Rates
Publications by Michael Christian
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COVID-19 Impacts on Student Learning
Evidence From Interim Assessments in California
At the first anniversary of school closures due to COVID-19, nearly half of the K–12 students in the U.S. were attending schools that were either fully remote or offering hybrid instruction, with more than 70 percent of California students attending…
Can We Measure Classroom Supports for Social-Emotional Learning?
This study uses value-added models to explore whether social-emotional learning (SEL) surveys can measure effective classroom-level supports for SEL. Results show that classrooms differ in their effect on students' growth in self-reported SEL,…
School Differences in Social–Emotional Learning Gains: Findings From the First Large-Scale Panel Survey of Students
School Differences in Social-Emotional Learning Gains
Findings From the First Large-Scale Panel Survey of Students
This article discusses the use of standardized tests as the primary tool for assessing school-level growth in student outcomes, despite the emerging importance of social-emotional learning (SEL). It presents results from large-scale surveys of…
SEL School Effects May 2018
School Effects on Social-Emotional Learning
Findings from the First Large-Scale Panel Survey of Students
This paper examines the use of social-emotional learning (SEL) measures to evaluate school-level growth in student outcomes. The study finds substantial differences across schools in SEL growth, suggesting that schools may contribute to students'…