High-quality afterschool and summer learning programs are effective ways to support children and teens and accelerate their academic growth. In fact, the American Rescue Plan prioritized a significant amount of funding for out-of-school time programs because of the evidence of their effectiveness. Over the past few years, state educational…

Social studies instructional time in elementary schools has declined substantially. Responding to this, the National Geographic Society (NGS) developed a professional learning program called the Elementary Social Studies Community of Practice (ESSCoP). This article describes this program's design and content, as well as evaluates its…

The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program is a residential, quasi-military program that serves young people ages 16 to 18 who are struggling to complete their high school credential. This is the ninth report in an annual series that RAND researchers have issued. The prior annual reports cover 2015 through 2022. Each annual report documents the…

Heartwheels! STEM Mobile Outreach is a scientist-led collaborative, innovative, and reproducible experiential educational program and mobile lab developed to engage people young and old in the cardiovascular sciences, improve health literacy and awareness of heart-healthy living, and spark curiosity in the science, technology, engineering, and…

This report summarizes the final results of the Future Forward Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Scale-Up grant awarded to Education Analytics in 2021. Through this grant, the number of schools receiving Future Forward increased to 20, extending the program to a larger number of schools and students. However, the results suggest that Future…

Introduction: In the USA, syringe services programmes (SSPs) provide a range of harm reduction services and have numerous benefits for communities. However, stigma, misconceptions about SSPs and changing policies/legislation remain a challenge to effective implementation. This study reviews the implementation of two digital interventions,…

Abt Associates evaluated the Bridges to Career Opportunities (BCO) program, developed by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), to determine whether adults with low incomes and low skills who participate in BCO services are more likely to increase their employment and financial stability than do adults who participate in LISC's…

Reading has been at the forefront of early-grade educational interventions, but addressing the educational needs of students in math early on is also critical given that early gaps in math skills widen further over the course of schooling. In this study, we examine the effects of Kentucky's Math Achievement Fund -- a unique state-level program…

A number of school districts and states have implemented transition intervention programs designed to help high school students graduate ready for college. This study estimates the effectiveness of a transition program implemented statewide in Kentucky for high school seniors called Targeted Interventions (TI). Using 11 years of linked panel data,…

Boosting literacy among school-age children remains a national priority. Nearly one third of students in the United States have not developed the foundational reading skills needed to succeed academically, with students living in poverty, students with disabilities, and English learners especially at risk. Starting in 2010, Congress invested more…

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether the districts that received ongoing training and coaching to use the Active Implementation Frameworks improved mathematics outcomes. The Active Implementation Frameworks represent five essential approaches for effective implementation of any evidence-based program or practice. One of the…

Objective: In 2009, the Kentucky General Assembly found unacceptable and costly the ongoing high numbers of high school students requiring remediation once they enter higher education. The state passed legislation to better align secondary and college education, establishing a diagnostic cycle that would become its Targeted Interventions (TI)…

In this dissertation, I examine how two major social programs in Kentucky--state-funded preK and Family Resource and Youth Service Centers--impact children's outcomes across the state, including racial, ethnic, and economic equity through elementary school. In each chapter, I will analyze how early childhood opportunities relate to outcomes…

Kentucky's Targeted Interventions (TI) program is a statewide intervention intended to prepare non-college-ready high school students for college-level coursework. Using a difference-in-regression discontinuity design, we find that TI reduces the likelihood that students enroll in remedial courses by 8 to 10 percentage points in math. These…

The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program is a residential, quasi-military program for youth ages 16 to 18 who are experiencing difficulty in traditional high school. This report covers the program years 2018-2019 and is the fourth in a series of annual reports that RAND Corporation researchers have issued over the course of a research project…