Michael T. Nettles

Michael T. Nettles has been a Professor of Education at the University of Michigan since 1992, is a prominent national policy researcher on educational assessment, student performance and achievement, educational equity, and higher education finance policy. The focus of his research covers such issues as educational access, opportunity, attainment, the consequences of education for various population groups in the United States, state and national assessment, educational funding policies, and educational testing of students at all levels of education. His knowledge and research on these issues have been featured in newspapers throughout the United States and he has testified before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education, Training and Life Long Learning. He has published widely on topics of student progress and performance in schools, colleges and universities, and student performance on educational assessments. His most recent publications are the following: Pursuing broader participation and greater benefit from federal college student financial aid: Toward new purposes, guidelines, and requirements for a more efficient and effective college student aid program; How Much Can Education Do? Should we Prefer Standardized Tests or High Standards for Everyone; and Equity and Excellence in Educational Testing and Assessment. From 1996 to 1999, Nettles served as the first Executive Director of the Fredrick D. Patterson Research Institute of the United Negro College Fund. Nettles is a member of National Assessment Governing Board where he serves as a Vice Chairman. His past positions include member of the College Board of Trustees where he chaired the College Board Research and Development Committee, Vice President for Assessment for the University of Tennessee System, Knoxville, Tennessee, Senior Research Scientist at Educational Testing Service, and Assistant Director for Academic Affairs at the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, Nashville, Tennessee. He is a native of Nashville, Tennessee and received his B.A. in Political Science at the University of Tennessee, two Masters degrees, one in Political Science and the other in Higher Education, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education from Iowa State University.