Education Policy Research

Educators are faced with a bewildering array of choices related to curriculum, instructional approaches, and services for students. Scientifically based research can help them by supporting better decisions. Mathematica has been playing important roles in advancing the rigor of education research. We are assisting the Institute of Education Sciences by providing peer review of studies being conducted by the Regional Educational Laboratories. Mathematica's education experts are also serving as principal investigators for the What Works Clearinghouse, conducting systematic reviews of the literature in the areas of dropout prevention and beginning reading. In addition, our staff are producing reports on important methodological topics, such as the sample sizes needed to achieve specific levels of statistical power in education experiments with clustered designs, the relative accuracy of nonexperimental and experimental study designs, and how control group contamination can affect estimates of program impacts.

Reading and math skills are critical foundations of learning, yet many children struggle to learn them. Further, there is controversy about how best to teach these skills, and teachers are faced with conflicting advice from experts. We are evaluating the effectiveness of remedial reading programs to provide much-needed evidence to inform the debate about how best to help struggling readers. We are also looking at the effectiveness of different approaches for teaching reading comprehension strategies to fifth graders. In addition, we are conducting a large-scale rigorous study to evaluate early elementary math curricula that show promise for improving achievement in disadvantaged schools.

School quality depends on attracting the best teachers, helping them improve their skills, and retaining them. To study the success of an initiative that steers graduates of top colleges into the nation's poorest schools, we evaluated the Teach For America program. To determine whether high-intensity teacher induction can help struggling schools hold on to their best new teachers, we are examining programs in a randomized experiment involving 1,000 teachers in 400 schools from 17 high-poverty school districts around the country. We are also studying the impact of alternative routes to the classroom on student performance in two studies. The first provides alternative certification through a portable credential based on teacher exams. The second deals with alternative teacher preparation. Several studies of the effectiveness of teacher compensation reform, such as performance-based pay and career ladder bonuses, are helping to shed light on how to recruit and retain top teachers in high-need schools. In addition, we have examined the quality of data from national education surveys for studying schools, administrators, and teachers, particularly in light of changes in teacher training.

As a nation, we simply cannot afford to leave any segment of our population behind. Mathematica has been in the forefront of identifying ways to address the educational needs of at-risk youth. We have evaluated efforts to raise the achievement of disadvantaged children, reduce dropout rates, and help at-risk high school students prepare for postsecondary education and productive careers

To address diverse educational needs and encourage schools to continually improve, policymakers have sought to expand the array of educational options available to parents. Mathematica is a leader in evaluating school choice programs. We have examined the impacts of school voucher programs on student attendance, achievement, and other factors. In addition, we are conducting a rigorous national evaluation of the effectiveness of charter schools.

Computers are common in classrooms, yet little is known about technology's effectiveness in improving learning. We are conducting a random assignment study to learn how well technology works to improve learning in math and reading in grades K-12. We have also helped develop training for teachers in using technology to improve instruction and examined strategies that promote knowledge transfer and use.

The growing use of academic test scores to measure school and student performance has heightened an old debate about which competencies public schools should encourage students to develop. To shed light on this issue, Mathematica researchers have estimated the effects of academic and nonacademic competencies-including math and reading achievement, leadership skills, sports-related skills, work habits, prosocial behavior, and locus of control-on students' postsecondary earnings and educational attainment.

What students do after school has long been a source of national concern. Our study of 21st Century after-school programs showed that they changed where and with whom students spent some of their after-school time and increased parental involvement in school activities. But the study also revealed that programs had a limited influence on academic performance and other program objectives. The findings have translated into efforts to refocus the program.

Not everyone in our country has the same preparation for and access to college. We are evaluating Upward Bound and Talent Search, two national precollege programs that prepare economically disadvantaged students to enter and succeed in college. We are also assessing Upward Bound's math and science initiative, which is designed to strengthen the math and science skills of disadvantaged high school students and encourage them to pursue postsecondary degrees and careers in these fields.

Helping students develop the knowledge, skills, and habits they need to prepare for the future is a critical challenge. We have conducted a variety of studies examining issues and initiatives related to career-focused education. For example, we have assessed the efficacy of Career and Technical Education programs in improving students' education and earnings outcomes, evaluated various efforts to enhance career-focused programs, examined factors affecting students' postsecondary transitions, and completed the first national study of high school and college certification programs for information technology skills. We are currently helping Career and Technical Education curriculum developers provide students with more opportunities to apply math skills and developing study design options for assessing the impact of the revised curricula on students' math and technical skills.