As reporting of effect sizes in evaluation studies has proliferated, researchers and consumers of research need tools for interpreting or benchmarking the magnitude of those effect sizes that are relevant to the intervention, target population, and outcome measure being considered. Similarly, researchers planning education studies with social and…

Meta-analyses are systematic summaries of research that use quantitative methods to find the mean effect size (standardized mean difference) for interventions. Critics of meta-analysis point out that such analyses can conflate the results of low- and high-quality studies, make improper comparisons and result in statistical noise. All these…

There is a need for robust evidence about which educational interventions work in preschool to foster children's cognitive and socio-emotional learning (SEL) outcomes. Lab-based individually randomized experiments can develop and refine such interventions, and field-based randomized experiments (e.g., cluster randomized trials) evaluate their…

This article provides evidence about predictive relationships between features of community college interventions and their impacts on student progress. This evidence is based on analyses of student-level data from large-scale randomized trials of 39 (mostly) community college interventions. Specifically, the evidence consistently indicates that…

This study investigates the impact of Education Endowment Foundation (EEF)-funded trials on pupils eligible for free school meals. Although similar analysis is conducted during each individual evaluation, this report conducts a meta-analysis using data from 88 trials and over half a million pupils to reach conclusions. The report contributes to…

Over the past 15 years, we have seen an increase in the use of cluster randomized trials (CRTs) to test the efficacy of educational interventions. These studies are often designed with the goal of determining whether a program works, or answering the what works question. Recently, the goals of these studies expanded to include for whom and under…

As a result of the evidence-based decision-making movement, the number of randomized trials evaluating educational programs and curricula has increased dramatically over the past 20 years. Policy makers and practitioners are encouraged to use the results of these trials to inform their decision making in schools and school districts. At the same…

Poor program implementation constitutes one explanation for null results in trials of educational interventions. For this reason, researchers often collect data about implementation fidelity when conducting such trials. In this article, we document whether and how researchers report and measure program fidelity in recent cluster-randomized trials.…

Background: The use of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in education has increased significantly over the last 15 years. However, their use has also been subject to sustained and rather trenchant criticism from significant sections of the education research community. Key criticisms have included the claims that: it is not possible to undertake…

Despite widespread recognition among policy makers, educational leaders, and the nation as a whole of the importance of science, engineering, and technology as drivers of the future of the country and society, the science achievement of America's students is mediocre at best, in comparison to that of international peers. On the 2012 PISA tests in…