Purpose: Neurodiversity-affirming practices for people with autism need to be backed by rigorous evidence of effectiveness. We discuss aspects of research design and reporting in autism intervention research that should be considered by intervention providers when providing evidence-based practices to support people with autism. We describe risks…

Toward the goal of more rapid knowledge accumulation via better meta-analyses, this article explores statistical approaches intended to increase the precision and comparability of effect sizes from education research. The featured estimate of the proposed approach is a standardized mean difference effect size whose numerator is a mean difference…

Researchers and practitioners in postsecondary and workplace settings recognize the value of noncognitive constructs in predicting academic and vocational success but also perceive that many students or employees are lacking in these areas. In turn, there is increased interest in interventions designed to enhance these constructs. We provide an…

Group design research studies can provide evidence to draw conclusions about "what works," "for whom," and "under what conditions" in special education. The quality indicators introduced by Gersten and colleagues (2005) have contributed to increased rigor in group design research, which has provided substantial…

The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Study Review Protocol accompanies the "WWC Procedures and Standards Handbook, Version 5.0," and guides reviews of studies by the WWC. The WWC uses this protocol to review all studies, including those cited as evidence for U.S. Department of Education grant competitions, studies that were funded by the…

Positive school climate and supportive learning environments have a significant effect on a range of student outcomes. There are a number of assessment instruments that districts can use to measure school climate. These instruments are available from and recommended by national organizations that promote and support school climate interventions.

This chapter discusses the work of the Center for Community College Student Engagement, highlighting institutes the Center hosts and work that comes from these meetings. Examples of interventions that evolved from the High-Impact Practices Institutes conducted by the Center are provided. The chapter concludes with a discussion about implementation…

The central roles of science in the field of remedial and special education are to (a) identify basic laws of nature and (b) apply those laws in the design of practices that achieve socially valued outcomes. The scientific process is designed to allow demonstration of specific (typically positive) outcomes, and to assist in the attribution of…

The purpose of this article is to present various single-case outcome assessment methods for evaluating school-based intervention effectiveness. We present several outcome methods, including goal attainment scaling, visual analysis, trend analysis, percentage of non-overlapping data, single-case mean difference effect size, reliable change index,…

This article describes the development and use of a rapid evaluation approach to meet program accountability and learning requirements in a research for development program operating in five developing countries. The method identifies clusters of outcomes, both expected and unexpected, happening within areas of change. In a workshop, change agents…

The development of definitions is an integral part of the research process but is often poorly described. This paper details the iterative development of five definitions: Policy, Health policy-maker, Health policy agency, Policy documents, and Research findings. We describe the challenges of developing definitions in a large multidisciplinary…

This protocol guides the review of research that informs the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) practice guide in the topic area of Effective Advising for Postsecondary Students. The review protocol is used in conjunction with the "WWC Procedures Handbook" and the "WWC Standards Handbook (versions 4.0)." The purpose of the…

In recent decades, research and practice have shown that investing in a positive school-wide social culture is a key component of effective education. Evidence demonstrates that educators and students succeed when students are present, engaged, socially secure, and academically successful. Developed by 2M Research in conjunction with an expert…

For many practitioners in schools and clinics, collecting data to show the effectiveness of an intervention is probably one of the most important yet challenging components of intervention implementation. This article provides practitioners with an example case study of how data can be organized and collected to determine the effectiveness of a…

This review-specific protocol guides the review of research that informs the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) intervention reports in the English learners (EL) topic area. The review-specific protocol is used in conjunction with the "WWC Procedures and Standards Handbooks (version 4.0)." ELs are among the fastest-growing population in U.S.…