Vladimir Kogan studies state and local government in the United States. His research focuses on the intersection of politics and public policy in areas including education and social policy. Kogan’s work has been published in top scholarly journals, including American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, and Journal of Public Economics.

You can find his Google Scholar profile here.

For an overview of Kogan’s recent research and thinking on education governance, here is a video of a presentation from the May 2023 “Should School Boards Run Schools?” conference organized by the Program on Education Policy and Governance at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. This event examined whether school boards are democratic — reviewing academic research findings, discussing potential reforms, and providing a preview of the issues Kogan is tackling in his current book project.

• Education politics and policy
• State and local politics

Recent Research Reports:

• “Student Achievement and Learning Acceleration in Ohio (Aug. 28, 2023)”

  Abstract: Student achievement has continued to demonstrate significant recovery over the past year based on performance on the spring 2023 Ohio State Tests. Overall, average English/language arts achievement has returned to pre-pandemic levels (or nearly so), while math achievement remains significantly lower. The math shortfalls are smallest in elementary grades but more pronounced in middle school grades. Analysis of “learning acceleration,” defined as faster one-year growth relative to pre-pandemic benchmarks, reveals similar trajectories in recovery from initial declines as suggested by the changes in average scores. Achievement on science and social studies has largely followed ELA and math performance, with students recording large declines in spring 2021 but also posting major rebounds since then. Despite average ELA scores largely rebounding to pre-pandemic benchmarks, some student subgroups (Black, Latino, and economically disadvantaged) and schools (urban districts and brick-and-mortar community schools) remain significantly behind these groups’ respective pre-pandemic achievement levels.

  These state-level averages mask substantial variation across school districts. Although 95 percent of districts have seen achievement improve in both ELA and math since spring 2021, the magnitude of this recovery varies widely and is strongly related to the amount of learning acceleration achieved at the district level. Federal pandemic aid appears to have been well targeted, with districts that experienced larger initial learning declines also receiving more supplemental funding per student. However, the receipt of more aid is not related to substantially greater learning acceleration over the past two years. At the school district level, areas that saw the largest achievement declines in the first year of the pandemic have not experienced faster learning acceleration since then.

Recent Commentaries:

• “Despite Steady Gains, Much Work Remains on Ohio’s Academic Recovery,” Ohio Gadfly (Sept. 5, 2023)
• “New NAEP Scores Reveal the Failure of Pandemic Academic Recovery Efforts,” The 74 (June 26, 2023)
• “Higher Education Bill Could Spark ‘Defensive Teaching’”, Columbus Dispatch (April 21, 2023)
• “The Choice in Education Governance Debates: Complacency or Reform?”, Education Next (October 4, 2022)