Michigan State University Distinguished Professor and internationally recognized education scholar William “Bill” Schmidt died on May 26, 2025.
Schmidt joined the MSU College of Education in 1969 and served in teaching and administrative capacities for more than 55 years. He was still on faculty at the time of his passing. Recent leadership roles include serving as the founder and director of the Center for the Study of Curriculum Policy (CSCP) and as the program director for the Measurement and Quantitative Methods (MQM) Ph.D. program. He also held a faculty appointment with the Department of Statistics and Probability (College of Natural Science). Previous notable MSU roles include co-directing the Education Policy Center and the Center for Research on Mathematics and Science Education.
“To say Bill Schmidt was a pioneer and transformative for the field of education and education research is too small of praise,” said Jerlando F. L. Jackson, dean of the College of Education and MSU Research Foundation Professor. “He was a titan within the field and will be missed for his wisdom, contributions and camaraderie.”
Notable projects
In addition to his roles in the College of Education, Schmidt served as a statistical analyst on the Second International Mathematics Study project and later directed the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the most extensive international math and science achievement study ever conducted.
His work with TIMSS helped to develop the concept and instrumentation of opportunity to learn (OTL), which demonstrated that students do not learn math arbitrarily and cannot learn what they are not taught. This study received attention from then-President Clinton and U.S. Congress and later helped to create the national Common Core curriculum in mathematics, which aimed to support disadvantaged students.
“Bill Schmidt’s work affected mathematics and science education around the world,” said University Distinguished Professor and Dean Emeritus Robert E. Floden, who also served as co-director of the Education Policy Center. “He began his career as a knowledgeable and innovative research methodologist, but quickly extended his reach to education policy, focusing on the intersection of curriculum and instruction in K-12 STEM education. Building on early studies of factors influencing what was taught and learned in elementary school mathematics, he became the leader of a rigorous international study of mathematics and science teaching and learning, TIMSS. He combined his research talents with a flair for communicating research results in ways that made political leaders around the world adopt strategies grounded in evidence from Schmidt’s research. Bill was a remarkable scholar, teacher, policy advisor and colleague.”
Several in the college worked with Schmidt on TIMSS, including Richard T. Houang and Leland S. Cogan, both now retired from the university. Their long-standing partnerships with Schmidt from before TIMMS (published in 1995) and after are indicative of the community Schmidt helped cultivate. Though he often served as lead author or principal investigator, Schmidt was always quick to share that his work was not done — and could not be done — in isolation.
“Bill liked to work hard but have fun. His research group was the envy of many other researchers,” said Christina Defouw, a retired finance manager for CSCP. She noted how Schmidt worked with a core group of individuals who were dedicated to his ideals.
Selected awards, accolades, and publications
Schmidt's work is significant, as evidenced by numerous prestigious publications, grants and memberships. Publications in recent years included an examination of mathematics textbooks in 19 countries (2022) and an analysis of how race and socio-economic status contribute to math education inequalities (2024).
Schmidt was a member of the National Academy of Education, an International Academy of Education Fellow, an American Educational Research Association (AERA) Fellow and an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Thomas J. Alexander Fellow for education quality and equity. In 2022, he received AERA's Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education Award, the premier award for outstanding achievement and success in education research.
According to Google Scholar, Schmidt’s work has been cited more than 15,000 times. It includes publications in journals such as the Journal of Educational Statistics, Educational Research, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis and the Journal of Curriculum Studies, among many others.
His most recent books include:
- “Schooling Across the Globe: What We Have Learned from 60 Years of Mathematics and Science International Assessments,” (Cambridge University Press, 2018); co-written with Houang, Leland S. Cogan, and Michelle L. Solorio, who were all at MSU at time of publication.
- “Inequality for All: The Challenge of Unequal Opportunity in American Schools” (Teachers College Press, 2012), co-written with Curtis McKnight.
- “Why Schools Matter: A Cross-National Comparison of Curriculum and Learning,” (Jossey-Bass, 2001), co-written with McKnight, Houang, Cogan, HsingChi Wang, David E. Wiley, and Richard G. Wolfe.
The reason behind the work
Beyond professional accomplishments and achievements, Schmidt was most committed to his family: his wife, Judy, and four children. For example, Schmidt would travel, sometimes overnight, to reach home in time for important family events.
"When giving talks around the world, he would tell the audience his children are why he fights so hard to improve education," Judy wrote. "He was an exemplary father and husband: compassionate, kind and patient."
Read more about Schmidt’s life and legacy in “The scholar who changed mathematics education.”