As evidence-based reform becomes increasingly important in educational policy, it is becoming essential to understand how research design might contribute to reported effect sizes in experiments evaluating educational programs. The purpose of this study was to examine how methodological features such as types of publication, sample sizes, and…

The Nuffield Early Language Intervention is designed to improve the spoken language ability of children during the transition from nursery to primary school. It is targeted at children with relatively poor spoken language skills. Three sessions per week are delivered to groups of two to four children starting in the final term of nursery and…

The SPOKES (Supporting Parents on Kids Education in Schools) programme is a ten-week intervention for parents designed to help struggling readers in Year 1. The programme teaches parents strategies to support their children's reading such as listening to children read, pausing to let them work out words, and praising them when they concentrate and…

U.S. social programs, set up to address important problems, often fall short by funding specific models/strategies ("interventions") that are not effective. When evaluated in scientifically-rigorous studies, social interventions in K-12 education, job training, crime prevention, and other areas are frequently found ineffective or…

In recent years, governments across the world have increased their investments in early childhood education programs (Britto, Yoshikawa, & Boller, 2011; Engle et al., 2011; Myers, 2006; UNESCO, 2006). This investment in preprimary education reflects the proven value of providing early learning opportunities in promoting later educational…

The project, "Oxford Improving Numeracy and Literacy Programme," was delivered by Oxford University Department of Education. This evaluation tested two different initiatives with Year 2 children: "Mathematics and Reasoning" and "Literacy and Morphemes." The "Mathematics and Reasoning" programme aimed to…

The Mathematics Mastery programme is a whole-school approach to teaching mathematics that aims to raise attainment for all pupils and close the attainment gap between pupils from low income families and their peers. The programme aims to deepen pupils' conceptual understanding of key mathematical concepts. This clustered Randomised Controlled…

Act, Sing, Play (ASP) offered music and drama tuition to Year 2 pupils. The aim of the programme was to evaluate whether music workshops had a bigger impact than drama workshops in terms of pupils' maths and literacy attainment. The evaluation was based on the hypothesis that participation in high-quality music instruction promotes educational…

The Tutor Trust is a Manchester-based charity that aims to provide affordable small group and one-to-one tuition, predominantly to disadvantaged pupils in schools in challenging communities. The tutors are university students and recent graduates, enabling tuition to be provided at a competitive rate on a not-for-profit basis. This three-year…

Writing is an essential skill for participating in modern American society. Although it is crucial to careers and civic engagement, student writing falls far short of national expectations (College Board, 2004; NCES, 2012; Persky, Daane, & Jin, 2003). The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) seek to increase the rigor of writing instruction…

The Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) provides grants to support performance-based compensation systems for teachers and principals in high-need schools. The goal of the grants is to increase the number of high-performing teachers in high-need schools by rewarding educators for improving students' achievement. The report on which this snapshot is based…

Research indicates that effective teachers are critical to raising student achievement. However, there is little evidence about the best ways to improve teacher effectiveness, or how schools that serve the students most in need can attract and retain effective teachers. Traditional salary schedules, which pay teachers based on their years of…

Research indicates that effective teachers are critical to raising student achievement. However, there is little evidence about the best ways to improve teacher effectiveness, or how schools that serve the students most in need can attract and retain effective teachers. Traditional salary schedules, which pay teachers based on their years of…

This is a report of a pilot programme of the SHINE in Secondaries Saturday school transition intervention. The programme aims to improve attainment by focusing on literacy and numeracy and revisiting areas where pupils are struggling through a creative curriculum approach and enrichment opportunities. The Saturday programme is run by teachers from…

Tutoring with Alphie is a computer-assisted programme that aims to improve the literacy skills of struggling readers. The programme combines elements of collaborative (or 'cooperative') learning, computer-assisted instruction and small group support. Participating pupils are grouped in pairs and follow a series of activities that seek to improve…