Discussions of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in education that do not show an impact regularly focus on the intervention and how it failed to impact on expected measures, with typologies identifying persistent critical points of failure. This paper uses one such RCT--the Integrating English programme--to exemplify the application of a new…

When randomized control trials are not possible, quasi-experimental methods often represent the gold standard. One quasi-experimental method is difference-in-difference (DiD), which compares changes in outcomes before and after treatment across groups to estimate a causal effect. DiD researchers often use fairly exhaustive robustness checks to…

Multi-site randomized controlled trials (RCTs) provide unbiased estimates of the average impact in the study sample. However, their ability to accurately predict the impact for individual sites outside the study sample, to inform local policy decisions, is largely unknown. To extend prior research on this question, we analyzed six multi-site RCTs…

Background: Network meta-analysis (NMA) of survival data with a multidimensional treatment effect has been introduced as an alternative to NMA based on the proportional hazards assumption. However, these flexible models have some limitations, such as the use of an approximate likelihood based on discrete hazards, rather than a likelihood for…

Despite the increase in federal tiered evidence initiatives that require the use of rigorous evaluation designs, such as randomized experiments, there has been limited guidance in the evaluation literature on practical strategies to implement such studies successfully. This paper provides lessons learned in executing experiments in applied…

The gold-standard for evaluating the effect of an educational intervention on student outcomes is running a randomized controlled trial (RCT). However, RCTs may often be small due to logistical considerations, and resulting treatment effect estimates may lack precision. Recent methods improve experimental precision by incorporating information…

This study aimed to assess the impact of educational intervention, based on health belief model (HBM) and collaborative learning techniques on diet quality in adolescents. In this field trial study, 311 students aged 13-15 years old were included, of which 163 and 148 allocated in the experimental and comparison groups, respectively. They were…

Personalized learning considers that the causal effects of a studied learning intervention may differ for the individual student. Making the inference about causal effects of studies interventions is a central problem. In this paper we propose the Residual Counterfactual Networks (RCN) for answering counterfactual inference questions, such as…

We applied the ABCX model of stress and coping to assess the association between child and family demands, school-based resources (i.e., parent-teacher alliance and COMPASS, a consultation intervention), and two measures of parent stress: perceptions of the demands of raising a child (Child domain) and reactions to those demands (Parent domain).…

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects individuals across all racial and ethnic groups, yet rates of diagnosis are disproportionately higher for Black and Hispanic children. Caregivers of children with ASD experience significant stressors, which have been associated with parental strain, inadequate utilization of mental health services and lower…

The Newborn Behavioral Observations (NBO) system is a neurobehavioral observation tool designed to sensitize parents to infants' capacities and individuality and to enhance the parent-infant relationship by strengthening parents' confidence and practical skills in caring for their children. The NBO's focus on relationship building is intended for…

A variety of computerized interactive learning platforms exist. Most include instructional supports in the form of problem sets. Feedback to users ranges from a single word like "Correct!" to offers of hints and partially- to fully-worked examples. Behind-the-scenes design of systems varies as well--from static dictionaries of problems…

This article describes the theory, key components, and empirical support for the Classroom Strategies Coaching (CSC) Model, a data-driven coaching approach that systematically integrates data from multiple observations to identify teacher practice needs and goals, design practice plans, and evaluate progress towards goals. The primary aim of the…

Design-based methods have recently been developed as a way to analyze data from impact evaluations of interventions, programs, and policies. The impact estimators are derived using the building blocks of experimental designs with minimal assumptions, and have good statistical properties. The methods apply to randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and…

A new design-based theory has recently been developed to estimate impacts for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and basic quasi-experimental designs (QEDs) for a wide range of designs used in social policy research (Imbens & Rubin, 2015; Schochet, 2016). These methods use the potential outcomes framework and known features of study designs…