Member Since 2009


Matthew M. Chingos directs the Center on Education Data and Policy at the Urban Institute. He leads a team of scholars who undertake policy-relevant research on issues from prekindergarten through postsecondary education and create tools such as Urban’s Education Data Portal. Chingos is coauthor of Game of Loans: The Rhetoric and Reality of Student Debt and Crossing the Finish Line: Completing College at America’s Public Universities. He has testified before Congress, and his work has been featured in media outlets such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, and NPR. Before joining Urban, Chingos was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He received a BA in government and economics and a PhD in government from Harvard University.

Published Articles & Media

Cover of The Debt Trap by Josh Mitchell

Drowning in Debt

Profiles of mega-borrowers spotlight broken student-loan policy

What To Make of the 2019 Results from the “Nation’s Report Card”

"Shame on us," "Return to accountability," "Focus on the low-performing students," and other reactions to the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress results.

Exploring Education Data Reveals Increasing Diversity in Maryland Schools

A new tool makes historical education data easier to find.

Privilege Worth Perpetuating

A review of “The Years That Matter Most” by Paul Tough

Campus Culture Shock

A review of “The Privileged Poor” by Anthony Abraham Jack
Charter Schools Enroll a Growing Share of Students (Figure 1)

Do Charter Schools Increase Segregation?

First national analysis reveals a modest impact, depending on where you look

Can We Design Student Loan Forgiveness to Target Low-Income Families?

How different approaches to loan forgiveness, including plans put forward by members of Congress and presidential hopefuls, would distribute benefits to Americans of different income levels and races and ethnicities.

Who Would Benefit from Elizabeth Warren’s Student Loan Forgiveness Proposal?

The plan is likely to disproportionately benefit middle- and upper-middle-income Americans, as well as black families, at an estimated total cost of about $955 billion.

What Do Racial and Ethnic Wealth Gaps Mean for Student Loan Policy?

Higher education policy research tends to focus more on income than wealth, not because income is more important, but because it is easier to measure, but income is a poor proxy for wealth, especially for black and Hispanic families.

Four Things to Know about Tax Credit Scholarships for School Choice

For a tax credit scholarship program to be successful, states will need to begin with a thorough review of the evidence.

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