His was the longest tenure of any education commissioner, and he devoted much of his time to children's literacy and arithmetic.

During World War I he took a leave of absence from that position to become national director of the Junior Red Cross and to undertake graduate study at Columbia University, where he was awarded a master's degree in 1920.

As superintendent, he started special education programs for children with disabilities and "slow learners.

[1] Believing that public discussion as civic education was the key to renewing democracy, he first ran a series of forums in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1932 – 1934, then instituted the Federal Forum Project, 1936 – 1941 until just before the outbreak of World War II.

[3] The Library of Congress online catalog lists 37 entries for Studebaker; his New York Times obituary cited two major works: