Morgan Polikoff

Morgan Polikoff
Morgan Polikoff
Professor of Education, Rossier School of Education,
University of Southern California

Morgan Polikoff is professor of education in the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. His research focuses on K–12 education policy, curriculum, standards, accountability, and assessment policy. His recent work examines curriculum material adoption and use, voter education policy preferences, and the impact of COVID-19 on families’ educational experiences. He previously served as co-editor of Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis and associate editor of the American Educational Research Journal, and he is on the editorial boards of Educational Researcher and AERA Open. Polikoff is the author of Beyond Standards: The Fragmentation of Education Governance and the Promise of Curriculum Reform and has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals. He earned his BA in mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and PhD in education policy from the University of Pennsylvania.

updated 2024

Contributing topics
Access, quality & alignment in early childhood education
College access & postsecondary success
Continuous school improvement & support
Education finance
Educational governance & policy
Educator workforce & effectiveness
Supporting students’ social-emotional, mental & physical health
Understanding, measuring & improving student outcomes
Contributing initiatives
Continuous Improvement and Support Systems in California
CORE-PACE Research Partnership
COVID-19 Recovery
Getting Down To Facts II
LCFF Research Collaborative
PACE/USC Rossier Voter Poll
Commentary by Morgan Polikoff
: For Aligned Instruction, State Must Have Aligned Standards, Assessments
Morgan Polikoff in the Media
: How California Can Fix Its School Crisis. Two PACE Projects Point the Way
: The Fight for Education—Insights from PACE Faculty Director Julie Marsh and PACE Board Advisor Carl Cohn
: What California Gov. Newsom’s Fight With a School District Says About Local Control
: The Pandemic Interrupted School for Three Years. How Long Will It Take to Fix the Damage?
: Critics Pan State’s Justification for Threatening Stanford Education Professor Over Breach of Data Contract
Publications by Morgan Polikoff
Assessing Voters’ and Parents’ Perspectives on Current Threats to Public Education
Assessing Voters’ and Parents’ Perspectives on Current Threats to Public Education
The 2022 PACE/USC Rossier Poll
The 2021-22 academic year in California was challenging for public education due to eight issues that threaten student learning, schools, and public education itself, including gun violence, declining enrollment, and long-term funding inadequacy.…
Report Hough July21 thumbnail
Californians and K–12 Education Amid COVID-19 Recovery
Views from the 2021 PACE/USC Rossier Poll
Growing inequities and lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic together with billions of dollars in new funding present an opportunity to make substantial changes to K–12 education to b
Civic Engagement in Education: Insights from California's Local Control Funding Formula
Civic Engagement in Education
Insights from California's Local Control Funding Formula
This policy brief focuses on California’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) to provide guidance for involving the public in goal setting and resource distribution decisions. It highlights weak accountability for using public funds by LCFF’s…
Report Polikoff Feb 2020
Californians and Public Education
Views from the 2020 PACE/USC Rossier Poll
In the run-up to 2020 elections, where do California voters stand on key education policy issues? This report examines findings and trends from the 2020 PACE/USC Rossier poll. Key findings include rising pessimism about California education and…