Dean Elizabeth Birr Moje speaks with the Detroit Free Press about the impact of federal cuts to education research 

The Detroit Free Press reports that education researchers are concerned about federal budget cuts, including mass layoffs at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the U.S. Department of Education's research branch.

"There are many, many research grants that are funded by IES ... that really are important for helping us understand what seems to be working for children, what doesn't seem to be working, and what we can do to make things work more effectively," Elizabeth Birr Moje, dean of the Marsal Family School of Education at the University of Michigan, told the Free Press. "That loss right out of the gate is just enormous."

Although the Free Press reports that the original funding cuts imposed in February by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) appear to have been restored by a judge’s order, education leaders like Moje are still worried about intended and future cuts to education research. At the Marsal School there are multiple federally funded research programs: everything from a study of Transitional Kindergarten programs to finding ways to improve student reading skills. Moje argues that this kind of research is done in the name of efficiency, so school districts don't waste public funds on resources that don't work.

"Other times a curriculum or material or even pedagogical practices may appear to be helping children, but then we find that if you look at it in a more nuanced way, a more qualitative way, it might actually have negative consequences for other children," Moje said. "And if we're concerned about making sure that everybody is getting what they need, then we need to think really carefully."