Joshua Goodman

Dr. Joshua Goodman is an associate professor of education and of economics at Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, where he works on the economics of education policy. His research applies causal inference methods to large quantitative data sets, to provide rigorous evidence on the impacts of education policies. His work focuses on a variety of education policy issues, including: the determinants and consequences of college choice; the effects of secondary math coursework; the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on public schools; and the role of stressors in student learning. Much of his policy-related work is done as a faculty affiliate of the Wheelock Educational Policy Center (WEPC).

Professor Goodman spent the 2022–23 academic year on leave from BU Wheelock to serve as a senior economist on the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers. Before he joined BU, he was a faculty member at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and at Brandeis University. Previously, Professor Goodman was a public high school math teacher in Watertown, Massachusetts, before starting his PhD.

Professor Goodman’s work has been published in peer-reviewed outlets such as the Quarterly Journal of Economics, Amerian Economic Review: Insights, and the Journal of Labor Economics. It has been cited in multiple White House reports and featured by the New York Times, the Washington Post, and National Public Radio. He serves as co-editor of the Journal of Human Resources and is an affiliate of NBER, CESifo, and IZA. He is on the board of directors of the Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP). He co-authored a 2023 National Academies of Sciences report on helping children recover from the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on educational outcomes.

Recent News

• How Elite Performers Stay On Top
• Three Faculty Rated Top Educational Policy Influencers
• BU Wheelock’s Chard and Goodman among Top Educational Policy Influencers
• Goodman Appointed to White House Council of Economic Advisors
• How Policy Impacts Student Outcomes
• It’s Time To Say Goodbye to the Hot and Stuffy Classroom
• The 2020 Snow Day is Here. It Must Include “Sleducation”
• New Project Tracks COVID-19 Impact on Teaching and Learning
• BU Wheelock Welcomes Six New Faculty
• Study Explores COVID-19 Impact on Families’ Engagement with Online Learning

In the Media

• Most States Have Extensive Graduate Requirements. In Mass., It’s Just the MCAS.
• Psychedelics, MCAS, Rideshare Unions, and More: What You Need to Know about This Year’s Ballot Questions
• The Tutoring Revolution
• Community Colleges Riding High after First Year of Free Tuition for Adult Students
• After Race-Conscious Admissions: How to Provide Strategic and Aggressive College Application Advice to Academically Ambitious Black Students
• Gifted and Talented Programs Are Vanishing from Schools. That’s a Bigger Problem Than You Think.
• The Algebra Problem: How Middle School Math Became a National Flashpoint
• For First Time in Decade, Public State Colleges Including Worcester State See Enrollment Increase
• Extreme Heat Closes Schools, Widens Learning Gap
• College Uncovered, Season 2, Episode 5: The Cost of Free