Though previously unacknowledged, a SMART (Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial) design uses both regression discontinuity (RD) and randomized controlled trial (RCT) designs. This combination structure creates a conceptual symbiosis between the two designs that enables both RCT- and previously unrecognized, RD-based inferential claims.…

Randomized experiments are a strong design for establishing impact evidence because the random assignment mechanism theoretically allows confidence in attributing group differences to the intervention. Growth of randomized experiments within educational studies has been widely documented. However, randomized experiments within education have…

Cluster-randomized trials have been widely used to evaluate the treatment effects of interventions on student outcomes. When interventions are implemented by teachers, researchers need to account for the nested structure in schools (i.e., students are nested within teachers nested within schools). Schools usually have a very limited number of…

Random encouragement designs evaluate treatments that aim to increase participation in a program or activity. These randomized controlled trials (RCTs) can also assess the mediated effects of participation itself on longer term outcomes using a complier average causal effect (CACE) estimation framework. This article considers power analysis…

Multisite trials that randomize individuals (e.g., students) within sites (e.g., schools) or clusters (e.g., teachers/classrooms) within sites (e.g., schools) are commonly used for program evaluation because they provide opportunities to learn about treatment effects as well as their heterogeneity across sites and subgroups (defined by moderating…

Background: The emergence of causal research in education was almost strictly quantitative twenty years ago, however, that landscape has changed considerably. The number of intervention studies fielded and completed annually has increased substantially, and the quality of the evaluations is much more robust, including paying much greater attention…

Background: Education scientists are increasingly interested in constructing interventions that are adaptive over time to suit the evolving needs of students, classrooms, or schools. Such "adaptive interventions" (also referred to as dynamic treatment regimens or dynamic instructional regimes) determine which treatment should be offered…

Random encouragement designs are randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that test interventions aimed at increasing participation in a program or activity whose take up is not universal. In these RCTs, instead of randomizing individuals or clusters directly into treatment and control groups to participate in a program or activity, the randomization…

Comprehensive evaluation of treatment effects is aided by considerations for moderated effects. In educational research, the combination of natural hierarchical structures and prevalence of group-administered or shared facilitator treatments often produces three-level partially nested data structures. Literature details planning strategies for a…

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…

High-quality preschool programs are heralded as an effective policy tool to promote the development and life-long wellbeing of children from low-income families. Yet evaluations of recent preschool programs produce puzzling findings, including negative impacts, and divergent, weaker results than were shown in demonstration programs implemented in…

Emergent technologies present platforms for educational researchers to conduct randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and collect rich data on study students' performance, behavior, learning processes, and outcomes in authentic learning environments. As educational research increasingly uses methods and data collection from such platforms, it is…

Emergent technologies present platforms for educational researchers to conduct randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and collect rich data to study students' performance, behavior, learning processes, and outcomes in authentic learning environments. As educational research increasingly uses methods and data collection from such platforms, it is…

This paper seeks to raise awareness among educational researchers and practitioners of some significant weaknesses and internal contradictions of randomised control trials (RCTs). Although critiques throughout the years from education scholars have pointed to the detrimental effects of this experimental approach on education practice and values,…

Randomized experiments involving education interventions are typically implemented as cluster randomized trials, with schools serving as clusters. To design such a study, it is critical to understand the degree to which learning outcomes vary between versus within clusters (schools), specifically the intraclass correlation coefficient. It is also…