Analysis of symmetrically predicted endogenous subgroups (ASPES) is an approach to assessing heterogeneity in an ITT effect from a randomized experiment when an intermediate variable (one that is measured after random assignment and before outcomes) is hypothesized to be related to the ITT effect, but is only measured in one group. For example,…

Evaluators of education interventions increasingly need to design studies to detect impacts much smaller than the 0.20 standard deviations that Cohen (1988) characterized as "small." For example, an evaluation of Response to Intervention from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) detected impacts ranging from 0.13 to 0.17 standard…

The goal of this study is to better understand how methods for estimating treatment effects of latent groups operate. In particular, the authors identify where violations of assumptions can lead to biased estimates, and explore how covariates can be critical in the estimation process. For each set of approaches, the authors first review the…

As demand for skilled labor increases, policymakers in an increasing number of developing countries have turned toward vocational education and training (VET) to educate and prepare students. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) published a 2012 report "acknowledging the need for [VET] to contribute to…

"Aid Like A Paycheck" is a large-scale pilot evaluation of whether an innovative approach to disbursing financial aid can improve academic and financial outcomes for low-income community college students. Lessons from the pilot evaluation were used to create and fine-tune a logic model depicting activities, outputs, mediators, and…

Cluster randomized trials (CRTs), or studies in which intact groups of individuals are randomly assigned to a condition, are becoming more common in the evaluation of educational programs, policies, and practices. The website for the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE) reveals they have launched over 30…

The purpose of this report is to present the results of a two-year randomized control trial evaluation of the SPARK literacy program. SPARK is an early grade literacy program developed by Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee. In 2010, SPARK was awarded an Investing in Innovation (i3) Department of Education grant to further develop the…

This paper presents evidence on the amount of classroom variation in gains across various domains of achievement within the Tennessee Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (TN-VPK) program; the data are taken from the randomized control trial (RCT) design of the TN-VPK evaluation. This study explores areas where those differences are largest, and offers…

One purpose of education research is to develop and rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of programs for supporting students' learning and achievement. The Institute of Education Sciences has amplified that purpose (Shadish & Cook, 2009) and attempted to improve the methodological standards for conducting such work--primarily through the What…

The Fidelity of Implementation (FOI) study that is the focus of this report was conducted as a component of a scale-up effectiveness trial of the SRA/McGraw-Hill Open Court Reading program. The overall purpose of the FOI study was to support and provide context for findings from the larger experimental impact study of Open Court Reading (OCR). To…

As part of the 2010 economic stimulus, a $55 million "Investing in Innovation" (i3) grant from the US Department of Education was awarded to scale up Reading Recovery across the nation. This paper presents the final round of results from the large-scale, mixed methods randomized evaluation of the implementation and impacts of Reading…

Performance-based scholarships were developed to help tackle some of the financial obstacles facing students in the postsecondary education system. In general, these scholarships aim to help reduce the financial burdens of low-income college students, and are structured to help incentivize good academic progress. Performance-based scholarships…

This paper is the first summary of two studies and 10 years of evaluating the Milwaukee Parental Choice (voucher) Program (MPCP). This paper discusses school voucher evaluations in general terms and how these studies are carried out. The paper outlines the types of studies completed in "Study I" and "Study II" and the results…

To date, evaluation research and policy analysis have focused mainly on average program impacts and paid little systematic attention to their variation. Recently, the growing number of multi-site randomized trials that are being planned and conducted make it increasingly feasible to study "cross-site" variation in impacts. Important…

This work summarizes the results of two randomized control trails (RCTs) aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of a professional development program for lower secondary school math teachers. The program, called M@t.abel, was financed by the Ministry of Education in Southern Italy with EU funds. It lasts a full school year and it is based on formal…