Government agencies collect vast amounts of administrative data in their day-to-day activities, primarily for program operations. But the information is less often used as a research tool or fully harnessed for its evidence-building potential. This brief is the fourth in a series of publications from MDRC about the Temporary Assistance for Needy…

The Center for Data Insights at MDRC has partnered with organizations to develop and execute a variety of data projects, some with long-standing partners that have participated in MDRC's long-term evaluations; others with newer partners that are just beginning to use data for program improvement. Important lessons about the essential ingredients…

This supplement contains additional information for the report, "Support for the Journey Home: An Impact Study of the Returning Citizens Stimulus Program." The Returning Citizens Stimulus (RCS) program was a pilot program for reentry cash support and aimed to help people quickly reach stability in their lives outside of prison and reduce…

This brief explores data science methods that workforce programs can use to predict participant success. With access to vast amounts of data on their programs, workforce training providers can leverage their management information systems (MIS) to understand and improve their programs' outcomes. By predicting which participants are at greater risk…

Implementing institution-wide, systemic change is typically a long and often challenging task for college leaders to undertake. Because each institution is different, the combination of internal and external factors that drive institutional change can vary greatly from college to college, and from moment to moment. Achieving the Dream (ATD), which…

MDRC has studied a number of proven strategies for helping students stay in college and succeed there, the most effective of which combine advisers or coaches who actively reach out to students, decision-making informed by data, and extra financial support. Lessons from some of these models may be readily adapted to support students and close…

Improving the quality of teaching and instruction takes time and planning and may be costly and require intensive work. This is particularly true when trying to make improvements among multiple preschool sites, because preschool systems often lack a cohesive infrastructure for supporting high-quality implementation of curricula and teacher…

The Evidence to Action project (2019-2021), led by MDRC and the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) and supported by Arnold Ventures, initiated a body of work designed to disentangle the barriers that exist between research and state-level higher education policy and partnered with state higher education agencies to…

Career and technical education (CTE) programs (programs that teach students specific workplace skills aligned with the labor market) may track data for lots of different reasons: to comply with funding requirements, to manage their services and continually improve, to measure their progress toward their goals, and to evaluate whether they are…

This brief is designed for school-based and community-based organizations interested in implementing evidence-based early childhood curricula. It provides practical guidelines and tools for four stages of implementation: (1) Preparing the system; (2) Hiring and training coaches; (3) Getting teachers ready to implement the curriculum as intended;…

Open-access colleges are an important pathway to economic mobility for millions of Americans. But graduation rates at these colleges are low--for example, only 36 percent of first-time, full-time freshmen at community colleges graduate within three years. Over the last two decades, MDRC and others have conducted research to build the evidence base…

This post is one in a series highlighting MDRC's methodological work. Contributors discuss the refinement and practical use of research methods being employed across MDRC. Part I of this two-part post discussed MDRC's work with practitioners from the Boston Public Schools (BPS) Department of Early Childhood to construct valid and reliable measures…

College students have a better chance of succeeding in school when they receive high-quality advising. High-quality advising, when characterized by frequent communications between advisers and students, early outreach to students showing signs of academic or nonacademic struggles, and personalized guidance that addresses individual student needs,…

This post is one in a series highlighting MDRC's methodological work. Contributors discuss the refinement and practical use of research methods being employed across the organization. Across policy domains, practitioners and researchers are benefiting from a trend of greater access to both more detailed and frequent data and the increased…

The growing awareness of the importance of the first year of high school for future success has prompted schools and districts across the country to develop interventions designed for ninth-graders. "Growth mindset" is an intervention that aims to increase students' desire to take on challenges and to enhance their persistence in school…