Michael Christian is the Principal Researcher on the Research team, and he joined Education Analytics (EA) in 2013. Mike is from Mount Prospect, Illinois, and attended Albion College and the University of Michigan.
How would you describe your role on your team?
Much of my project work involves the econometric aspects of the growth or value-added models that we run for our partners. That becomes especially intense during the summer, when the state test score data arrive. We try to turn around the growth measures at a high level of quality in as timely a way as possible. I spend a lot of time answering questions from analysts and product strategists and reviewing the results to see what their properties are like.
In the fall, winter, and spring, the project work is less intense. I work with the team on improving the models, developing new tools, and communicating with partners. I also have more time to work on getting our research work out there, presenting at conferences and submitting papers to journals. Finally, I have some administrative roles with the research team and with the technical advisory team.
What interested you in working at EA?
I'm an old-timer here! I started working at the Value-Added Research Center (VARC) in November 2006. VARC is where the founders of EA started out, at the University of Wisconsin. I wanted to use my research skills to produce something that would have a direct impact on the practice of education.
We know that every day is different, and what does a typical day at EA look like for you?
It's a combination of meeting with different teams and working with data. We have regular meetings, both internally with team members and externally with partners, for each of our growth projects, to respond to partner needs and set out next steps. I also meet with colleagues about the research team, and about research itself.
I also spend much of my time looking at data, whether it is reviewing results produced by our analyst team, or cracking open the statistical software to produce some results myself. I write quite a bit, too, whether it is specs for analysts, technical memos and reports for partners, or research papers for conferences and journals.
What skills do you possess that you find helpful in your role?
Definitely statistics and econometrics, and the intuition developed from having been involved in growth and value-added models for so long.
Communication skills are also very important. The districts and states you partner with need to understand the metrics to trust and be able to use them. You need to be able to describe your results in an intuitive way.
What is the most rewarding aspect of your role?
I really like the experience of working as part of a team, especially when there is a diversity of skills within that team. Most growth project teams are made up of researchers, analysts, and product strategists, and they're all a great bunch.
I also enjoy addressing a challenging methodological problem, particularly when it involves coming up with an approach that has to be both statistically rigorous and responsive to the practical needs of the partner. It feels like solving an especially engaging puzzle.
What is your favorite project that you’ve worked on at EA?
They're all great, but the absolute best ones are the ones in which the partner is seriously engaged. It can be a lot of work to be deeply collaborative in that way but it is so great to see the outcome of that work. We're fortunate that all of our growth partners have really smart, motivated people working for them who share the goal of developing and using high-quality metrics.
If you had to choose a different team to work on at EA, which team would you pick and why?
I get to work with the analyst and partner strategy teams a lot, and I love working with them. I'd love to learn more about the teams working in technological domains at EA.
What changes do you anticipate in your field in the next year?
I think the promise of Ed-Fi, for producing high-quality research in an expeditious way, is immense. I didn't appreciate it until I used Ed-Fi data for a study of the impact of absences on student outcomes. I couldn't believe how much data were available—grades by course; absences by day, course, and reason; and all sorts of assessments—and it was all in the same place and in a way that could be fit together. I think it speaks a lot to the prescience of EA's vision to have recognized and pursued that.
What is something you enjoy in your free time?
I've been doing a lot of work around the house lately. I like to read fiction and watch baseball on TV as well.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I couldn't make up my mind, but I also felt like I didn't have to. I would read these children's biographies about people like Benjamin Franklin, who published Poor Richard's Almanac, was part of the Continental Congress, and invented bifocals. I would think, I'll be like that, I'll just do everything.
What is something that you would tell your younger self about your career?
It's a lot of math, but don't worry! Math gets a lot better when it becomes your job, and you use it toward a real-life goal.