Informing and Advancing Effective Policy

The Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis (CEPA) is a research center created in 2009 to unite an interdisciplinary array of nationally prominent scholars from across the campus to provide the depth and scale of research needed to affect education practice and policy in meaningful ways. Our work is known for its understanding of the educational context, innovative use of data, and rigorous analyses that result in real solutions to real problems. Our strategic partnerships with educational practitioners and our engagement with policymakers ensure that our work is meaningful and leads to continuous improvement for all students. The work of CEPA’s scholars spans a range of education policy issues including Poverty and Inequality; Federal and State Education Policy; Technological Innovations in Education; and Teaching and Leadership Effectiveness. The CEPA community includes Stanford faculty, post-doctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students as well as visiting scholars and students from across the world.

CEPA was created in 2009 as part of The Stanford Challenge, a multidisciplinary initiative at Stanford to improve K-12 education by bringing together scholars from across the university, to tackle some of the most enduring and pressing issues in education policy, such as the reduction of racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic achievement disparities; the impact of federal and state policies on student outcomes; and the training, recruitment, and retention of effective teachers and administrators. Since our inception, we have conducted several impactful studies, trained numerous education policy scholars, formed strong partnerships with school districts, state education agencies, and nonprofit organizations, and expanded our scope to include early childhood and higher education.