Director of Education Policy Studies
Brian Backstrom is the Director of Education Policy Studies for the Rockefeller Institute. Among his work here, Brian has researched various aspects of the student debt crisis, policies regarding failing public schools, early childhood development issues, college access and affordability, high school graduation testing, and more. He previously served as president of a privately funded Albany-based policy research organization that investigated, crafted, and advocated for bold changes in the education landscape. Brian also serves as an independent consultant on K-12 education reform issues involving innovation, accountability, and choice.
Ep. 89. Fostering Success at SUNY
April 11, 2024
This episode of Policy Outsider goes beyond the numbers to hear from a Foster Youth College Success Initiative (FYCSI) award recipient and an FYCSI advocate how this funding can change the trajectory of students' lives. Continue Reading...
What We’re Watching in New York State’s FY25 Budget
March 28, 2024
Rockefeller Institute researchers highlight some key issues in different areas of the NYS FY 2025 budget that intersect with their research in healthcare, education, fiscal analysis, cannabis policy, and environmental issues. Continue Reading...
The Economic Impact of the State University of New York
February 14, 2024
The State University of New York (SUNY) is a significant economic driver in New York State. This report quantifies the 64-campus system's economic impact for academic year 2020. Continue Reading...
Fostering Success at SUNY: Financial Support through the Foster Youth College Success Initiative
January 30, 2024
Data show FYCSI awardees tend to reenroll after first year at higher rates than peers and post higher graduation rates for associate degrees. Continue Reading...
September 20, 2023
This Building Capacity for Change “playbook” highlights practices and strategies that proved to be effective in supporting the rollout and implementation of certain programs under the New York State Department of Health’s First 1,000 Days on Medicaid Initiative. Continue Reading...
College Rankings: Perceptions, Realities, and Ideas for an Overhaul
September 15, 2023
Effective reform of college ranking processes requires that the conversation on the future of rankings acknowledge their upside and magnify those elements while mitigating negative aspects. Continue Reading...
Ep. 75. Biden, SCOTUS, and Student Loan Debt Relief
July 25, 2023
Director of Education Policy Studies at the Rockefeller Institute Brian Backstrom and Fellow Rebecca Natow recap the United States Supreme Court decisions on the Biden administration's student debt relief plan and outline what the administration is doing next to provide relief to student debt borrowers. Continue Reading...
Ep. 66. Will Biden’s Student Debt Cancellation Plan Survive SCOTUS?
March 2, 2023
Brian Backstrom, director of education policy studies at the Rockefeller Institute of Government discusses the United States Supreme Court's hearing of two cases that oppose President Biden's student debt relief plan. Continue Reading...
SCOTUS to Decide: Is the Biden Administration’s Student Loan Debt Cancellation Program Legal?
February 23, 2023
The February 28 proceedings before the Supreme Court may offer a glimpse of how the nation’s highest court will decide the issue. Continue Reading...
Ep. 55. The Numbers Behind Student Debt Relief
September 13, 2022
Director of Education Policy Studies Brian Backstrom provides an update on the Biden Administration's student loan debt relief package. Continue Reading...
States Step In:
Relieving the Burden of Student Loan Debt
August 2, 2022
With national student loan debt ballooning to nearly $1.8 trillion, this policy brief highlights some of the hundreds of student loan debt relief programs that exist across federal, state, and local governments. Continue Reading...
Relieving the Burden of Student Loan Debt
May 20, 2022
This analysis discusses several innovative strategies that would lessen the burden of student debt. Continue Reading...
Ep. 48. New York State Budget Roundup
April 13, 2022
The Rockefeller Institute highlights what you need to know about New York State's $220 billion budget for the 2023 fiscal year. Continue Reading...
March 17, 2022
This blog provides an overview of the test optional movement, the impact of COVID on the application process and college admissions decisions, and the role standardized tests may play in the future of the college admissions process. Continue Reading...
December 22, 2021
This report catalogues the structure of 14 state-Sponsored Child Investment Accounts and four additional state-level college savings incentive programs. Continue Reading...
Test-Optional Admissions Policies: Evidence from Implementations Pre- and Post-COVID-19
June 24, 2021
Research into test-optional admissions policies finds that purposeful data collection is needed to determine the long-term impacts of test-optional policies on student enrollment, diversity, and success. Continue Reading...
Student Debt In New York State: A Compendium of Work by the Rockefeller Institute of Government
May 20, 2021
This compendium compiles and updates the Institute’s research on student loan debt, college access and affordability, and policy options for reducing student loan debt burden in New York State. Continue Reading...
Ep. 33. Policy and the Election
October 28, 2020
Rockefeller Institute researchers and fellows share remarks on the important policy issues facing the winner of the presidential election. Continue Reading...
September 8, 2020
Brian Backstrom, director of education policy studies at the Rockefeller Institute, and Leigh Wedenoja, senior policy analyst at the Rockefeller Institute, highlight various instructional models and discuss how parents and caregivers can prepare for a school year of uncertainty. Continue Reading...
September 1, 2020
This analysis reviews how the recent Supreme Court decision in Espinoza v. Montana may open access to private schools for tens of thousands of low-income schoolchildren during the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency. Continue Reading...
An Unexpected School-Enrollment Churn?
August 4, 2020
This analysis highlights the vast uncertainty surrounding K-12 public and private school enrollment in New York State this fall. Continue Reading...
Student Loan Debt Reform in the Virus’s Economic Wake
April 8, 2020
This analysis presents three student-loan reforms that can reduce economic hardship for student borrowers. Continue Reading...
The State of Connecticut Teacher Workforce
November 26, 2019
This report is the fourth in a series of state studies by the Rockefeller Institute of P-12 teacher demand and supply. Continue Reading...
November 5, 2019
On the latest episode, Brian Backstrom, director of education policy studies, shares insights from a recent Rockefeller Institute forum on effective early intervention in dyslexia. Continue Reading...
Should the SAT/ACT Be Part of New York State’s High School Testing Requirements?
July 30, 2019
Should New York State's Board of Regents consider using the SAT or ACT college entrance exams as a replacement for at least some of the state's current high school Regents exams? Continue Reading...
Ep. 11. Failing Schools: Makeover or Takeover?
July 26, 2019
An interview with Brian Backstrom about his latest report on the many school turnaround efforts have failed and identifying the keys for future success. Continue Reading...
School Turnaround Efforts: What’s Been Tried, Why Those Efforts Failed, and What to Do Now
July 23, 2019
While a tremendous amount of taxpayer and private philanthropic money has been spent on attempts to transform failing schools into something better, the vast majority of these attempts have failed because they lacked three criteria fundamental for the program to be a success. Continue Reading...
Incorporating Socioemotional Learning Standards into State Educational Accountability Systems
May 9, 2019
A conversation with Dr. Jaekyung Lee, Richard P. Nathan Fellow at the Rockefeller Institute of Government, about his team’s research on socioemotional learning standards Continue Reading...
Are Student Loan Refinancing Options Too Good to Be True?
March 17, 2019
Borrowers would do well to first understand one thing that student loan refinancing companies have in common: they intend to make money off of servicing student loans. Continue Reading...
Ep. 6. Digging into Student Debt in New York
February 22, 2019
A discussion with Brian Backstrom about his report, A Deeper Look at Student Debt in New York State. Continue Reading...
Avoiding Student Loans: Investing in Prepaid Tuition Plans
December 20, 2018
A state-sponsored prepaid tuition plan for New York's public colleges and universities could expand access to SUNY and CUNY for tens of thousands of students while creating a new pathway around student debt. Continue Reading...
How States Are Protecting Student Loan Borrowers
December 13, 2018
What can be done to prevent predatory lending and student loan repayment practices? The federal Department of Education believes that it has no jurisdiction in this matter. States, however, are starting to take action. Continue Reading...
A Deeper Look at Student Loan Debt in New York State
November 30, 2018
Better understanding the actual size, scope, and impact of student debt in New York is critically important if issues are to be properly addressed and solutions appropriately tailored to provide the most effective relief. Continue Reading...
A New Frontier for Saving for Retirement? The Creation of State Retirement Savings Marketplaces
March 23, 2018
Will a program such as New York's proposed Secure Choice Savings Program benefit private-sector workers? We found that even a voluntary program will likely reduce the number of New Yorkers without any retirement savings. Continue Reading...
The State of the New York Teacher Workforce
March 22, 2018
New York State as a whole is not experiencing a teacher shortage. But school districts with high child poverty and minority populations are facing severe problems in teacher staffing. Continue Reading...
