Michal Kurlaender

Michal Kurlaender is a professor of education policy at the University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on students’ educational pathways, in particular K-12 and postsecondary alignment, and access to and success in college.

Dr. Kurlaender works closely with all of California’s public K-12 and higher education sectors. She recently launched an IES-funded partnership with the California Department of Education to explore college and career readiness in the era of Common Core State Standards. She serves as a co-director of PACE (Policy Analysis for California Education), and is affiliated with the UC Davis Center for Poverty Research, Wheelhouse: The Center for Community College Leadership and Research, and the Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness at Teachers College, Columbia University.

She received her doctorate in education from Harvard University in 2005. Her work has been published in various academic and policy outlets. Dr. Kurlaender leads CAPSEE’s research on community college pathways, workforce development, and labor market outcomes in California.