Jens Ludwig is the Edwin A. and Betty L. Bergman Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, Pritzker Director of the University of Chicago’s Crime Lab, and co-director of the Education Lab. He helped found the Crime Lab and Education Lab to work closely with the public sector to solve pressing social problems. These partnerships have led to important policy changes in cities around the country, including Chicago and New York, and have been featured in national news outlets such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, PBS News Hour, and National Public Radio, and the scientific basis for these policies have been published in leading peer-reviewed journals like the American Economic Review, the Quarterly Journal of EconomicsScience, and Nature. In 2012 he was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science.

Jens’s Resources
Overcoming Pandemic-Induced Learning Loss
Academic Paper

Overcoming Pandemic-Induced Learning Loss

Oct 2023

The Education Lab’s faculty co-directors, Dr. Jens Ludwig, professor at the University of Chicago, and Dr. Jon Guryan, professor at Northwestern University, published a paper commissioned by the Aspen Economic Strategy Group for its 2023 policy volume.

Not Too Late: Improving Academic Outcomes Among Adolescents
Academic Paper

Not Too Late: Improving Academic Outcomes Among Adolescents

Mar 2023

Read our academic paper on the early Saga studies published in the American Economic Review.

Improving Academic Outcomes for Disadvantaged Students: Scaling Up Individualized Tutoring
Academic Paper

Improving Academic Outcomes for Disadvantaged Students: Scaling Up Individualized Tutoring

Mar 2016

Education Lab Faculty Co-Directors Jon Guryan and Jens Ludwig and Executive Director Rosesanna Ander penned this The Hamilton Project policy proposal. 

Not Too Late: Improving Academic Outcomes for Disadvantaged Youth
Academic Paper

Not Too Late: Improving Academic Outcomes for Disadvantaged Youth

Feb 2015

Read the Northwestern University Institute for Policy Research working paper on intensive individualized academic instruction as a strategy for improving academic outcomes of youth who need additional academic support.

Jens’s Projects
Personalized Learning Initiative

Personalized Learning Initiative

The Personalized Learning Initiative (PLI) is a moonshot to overcome pandemic learning loss and aims to bring high-dosage tutoring to students nationwide.

Personalized Learning Initiative: Tutor Corps Evaluation

Personalized Learning Initiative: Tutor Corps Evaluation

The University of Chicago Education Lab is partnering with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to scale personalized tutoring in the wake of the pandemic.

Saga Scale-Up

Saga Scale-Up

In partnership with Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE), and Saga Education, the Education Lab worked to scale up a promising high-dosage tutoring model that improves academic outcomes.

Saga Match

Saga Match

The Education Lab, in partnership with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and Saga Education, evaluated a promising high-dosage math tutoring model to improve students’ math achievement.

Latest Updates

Overcoming Pandemic Learning Loss: Bringing High-Dosage Tutoring to Students Nationwide
Event
Aspen Economic Strategy Group
Dec 2023

Overcoming Pandemic Learning Loss: Bringing High-Dosage Tutoring to Students Nationwide

The Aspen Economic Strategy Group (AESG) is hosting an event related to the publication of a new paper by the Education Lab’s faculty co-directors, Dr. Jens Ludwig and Dr. Jon Guryan, titled “Overcoming Pandemic-Induced Learning Loss.”

America’s Students Need an Operation Warp Speed
Op-Ed
The Hill
Oct 2023

America’s Students Need an Operation Warp Speed

The Education Lab’s faculty co-directors, Dr. Jens Ludwig, professor at the University of Chicago, and Dr. Jon Guryan, professor at Northwestern University, make the case for a large-scale tutoring program designed to compensate for pandemic-era learning loss and equalize educational opportunities in the long-term.

University of Chicago Education Lab and Aspen Economic Strategy Group Publish New Paper on Solutions to U.S. Learning Loss
Press Release
UChicago Education Lab
Oct 2023

University of Chicago Education Lab and Aspen Economic Strategy Group Publish New Paper on Solutions to U.S. Learning Loss

The Education Lab’s faculty co-directors, Dr. Jens Ludwig, professor at the University of Chicago, and Dr. Jon Guryan, professor at Northwestern University, published a paper commissioned by the Aspen Economic Strategy Group for its 2023 policy volume, “Building a More Resilient US Economy,” that makes the case for a large-scale tutoring program designed to compensate for pandemic-era learning loss and equalize educational opportunities in the long-term.