Background: The generalizability of a study's results continues to be at the forefront of concerns in evaluation research in education (Tipton & Olsen, 2018). Over the past decade, statisticians have developed methods, mainly based on propensity scores, to improve generalizations in the absence of random sampling (Stuart et al., 2011; Tipton,…

Background: Evidence from education randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) demonstrates how interventions can improve children's educational achievement [1, 2, 3, 4]. RCTs assess the impact of an intervention by comparing outcomes--aggregate test scores--between treatment and control groups. A review of…

Researchers use test outcomes to evaluate the effectiveness of education interventions across numerous randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Aggregate test data--for example, simple measures like the sum of correct responses--are compared across treatment and control groups to determine whether an intervention has had a positive impact on student…

This paper examines the scalability of the results from the Tennessee Student-Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) Project, a prominent educational experiment. We explore how the misalignment between the experimental design and the econometric model affects researchers' ability to learn about the intervention's scalability. We document heterogeneity…

The purpose of this study is to develop a nonparametric DIF method that (a) compares focal groups directly to the composite group that will be used to develop the reported test score scale, and (b) allows practitioners to explore for DIF related to focal groups stemming from multicategorical variables that constitute a small proportion of the…

Inquiry learning is an effective learning approach if learners are properly guided. Its effectiveness depends on learners' prior knowledge, the domain, and their relationship. In a previous study we developed an Experiment Design Tool (EDT) guiding learners in designing experiments. The EDT significantly benefited low prior knowledge learners. For…

In randomized control trials (RCT), the recent focus has shifted to how an intervention yields positive results on its intended outcome. This aligns with the recent push of implementation science in healthcare (Bauer et al., 2015) but goes beyond this. RCTs have moved to evaluating the theoretical framing of the intervention as well as differing…

This study investigated the impact of a multicomponent training program on the American School Counselor Association's National Model of school counseling. The model was designed to enhance school counselors' competence in implementing a comprehensive school counseling program. An ABA single case design was used to collect baseline, training, and…

To plan cluster-randomized trials with sufficient statistical power to detect intervention effects on student achievement, researchers need multilevel design parameters, including measures of between-classroom and between-school differences and the amounts of variance explained by covariates at the student, classroom, and school level. Previous…

Head Start is a national program that helps young children from families with low income get ready to succeed in school. It does this by working to promote their early learning and health and their families' well-being. The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) provides national information about Head Start programs and…

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) assesses the knowledge and skills in mathematics, reading and science of 15-year-old pupils in countries around the world. PISA is run by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and assessment is typically undertaken every 3 years, allowing us to chart how…