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Educational Program Evaluation

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RAND rigorously evaluates all kinds of educational programs by performing cost-benefit analyses, measuring effects on student learning, and providing recommendations to help improve program design and implementation. Our portfolio of educational program evaluations includes studies of early childhood education, summer and after-school programs, educator pay-for-performance, programs intended to reduce educational disparities, and choice- and standards-based reforms.

Essay

Investing in Principals Helps Students Succeed

Jul 5, 2019

Hiring good principals is one of the most important things a district can do for its students, second only to hiring good teachers. Students whose schools participated in a principal pipeline initiative outperformed their peers by six percentage points on reading tests and nearly three points in math.
Research Brief

Restorative Practices Help Reduce Student Suspensions

Dec 27, 2018

Restorative practices—inclusive and non-punitive ways to respond to conflict and build community—have been successful in reducing student suspensions in the Pittsburgh Public Schools district.

Explore Educational Program Evaluation

Commentary

What Do Teachers Want to See in Automated Writing Evaluation Systems?

Automated writing evaluation systems offer a promising approach to relieving the burden of giving formative feedback to students on their writing. What do teachers want to see in these systems so that the technology can be integrated into their teaching, rather than “one more thing” added to their classroom schedules?

Jul 28, 2020
Essay

The COVID Slide: How to Help Students Recover Learning Losses

Research shows that summer breaks contribute to income-based achievement and opportunity gaps for youth. How can we use what we know about summer learning to help kids in the age of COVID-19?

Jul 9, 2020
Report

Report

Effects of the Executive Development Program and Aligned Coaching for School Principals in Three U.S. States: Investing in Innovation Study Final Report

In this report, part of a series on professional development for school principals, the authors analyze the effects of a professional development program and paired coaching for middle school principals in three states.

Jul 1, 2020
Report

Taking Stock of Principal Pipelines

To what extent do U.S. school districts view school principals as a key lever for school improvement? Superintendents and senior officials from a national sample of school districts shared their views on principal pipelines and the priority their districts place on them.

Jun 23, 2020
Report

Report

Evidence on the Validity, Reliability, and Usability of the Measuring and Improving Student-Centered Learning (MISCL) Toolkit: Key Takeaways and Lessons on Developing Tools for School Improvement

This report summarizes a study on the validity, reliability, and usability of the Measuring and Improving Student-Centered Learning Toolkit, which was developed to help high schools measure the extent of student-centered learning in classrooms.

Jun 8, 2020
Research Brief

Research Brief

Ensuring That the Measuring and Improving Student-Centered Learning Toolkit Is Easy to Use and Produces Accurate, Meaningful Results

This research brief summarizes the validity, reliability, and usability of the Measuring and Improving Student-Centered Learning Toolkit, which was developed to help high schools assess the extent of student-centered learning in their schools.

Jun 8, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

The Nuffield Early Language Intervention: Evaluation Report

An evaluation of the Nuffield Early Language Intervention observed 1,156 students across 193 schools through a randomised control trial. The study found the intervention added three months progress in language skills compared to non-participants.

May 5, 2020
Report

Report

A Team-Based Leadership Intervention in New York City Schools: An Evaluation of the Targeted Intensive School Support Program

This report describes findings from an evaluation of the implementation and effects of the Targeted Intensive School Support program. This program was implemented in New York City Department of Education schools by the NYC Leadership Academy.

Apr 24, 2020
Research Brief

Research Brief

Four Lessons Learned from Implementing a Social and Emotional Learning Program to Enhance School Safety

This brief describes the implementation of Tools for Life®, a social and emotional learning program, in elementary and middle schools in Jackson, Mississippi, and evaluates the program's effects on school climate and safety.

Mar 17, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

Implementing an Adaptive Intelligent Tutoring System as an Instructional Supplement

This article studies the implementation of ALEKS (Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces) in a blended-learning model. This is the first rigorous experimental evaluation of ALEKS in K–12 in-school settings, and the first to gather extensive implementation data.

Mar 10, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

Automated Scoring of Students' Use of Text Evidence in Writing

The authors describe an approach to using automated essay-scoring technologies to provide information about students' skills at marshaling text evidence in the upper elementary grades.

Feb 26, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

eRevise: Using Natural Language Processing to Provide Formative Feedback on Text Evidence Usage in Student Writing

This paper presents the design and first classroom evaluation of eRevise, an Automated Writing Evaluation system for improving students' ability to use text evidence - a dimension of writing that is important for college and career readiness.

Feb 26, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

eRevis(ing): Students' Revision of Text Evidence Use in an Automated Writing Evaluation System

We investigate students' implementation of the feedback messages they received in an automated writing evaluation system (eRevise) that aims to improve students' use of text evidence in their writing.

Feb 26, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

Pursuing Excellence in Graduate Education and Research While Serving Regional Development

This chapter examines policies that Texas can use to encourage institutions to pursue excellence in graduate education and research, while meeting state labour market needs.

Feb 12, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

Using Workforce Data to Plan Higher Education Degree Programs

In this chapter, we summarize some findings and lessons from a series of projects for the state of Texas to help improve the alignment of higher education degree programs and workforce needs.

Feb 12, 2020
Report

Report

Evaluation of a Technology-based Intervention for Reading in UK Classroom Settings

RAND Europe found in a UK randomised controlled trial that classes of primary school children randomly allocated to receive a technology-based education intervention using Microsoft's Immersive Reader performed as well as business-as-usual classes.

Jan 29, 2020
Commentary

What LAUSD Can Learn from the New York City Community Schools Initiative

A study of New York City's community schools found improved academic performance, higher attendance, and other positive outcomes for disadvantaged students. This model could benefit similar efforts underway in Los Angeles, where 80 percent of students live in poverty.

Jan 28, 2020
Research Brief

The Promise of Community Schools

The New York City Community Schools Initiative is based on a holistic strategy of education reform. Academics, health and wellness, youth development, and family engagement are integrated into each school. This approach had positive effects on most of the examined student outcomes.

Jan 28, 2020
Report

Illustrating the Promise of Community Schools: An Assessment of the Impact of the New York City Community Schools Initiative

This report presents the impact of the New York Community Schools Initiative (NYC-CS) through the 2017--2018 school year by assessing the effects along seven outcome domains based on student- and school-level characteristics.

Jan 28, 2020
Report

Report

The Big Lift Descriptive Analyses: Progress Across Three Kindergarten Classes

In this report, the authors present results describing early learning outcomes of children from three kindergarten classes who were eligible to participate in The Big Lift, a preschool-third-grade initiative that aims to boost reading proficiency.

Jan 13, 2020

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RAND Topic:
Educational Program Evaluation

Research conducted by

RAND Education and Labor