This paper reviews prior research to assess the effectiveness of Title I in closing the achievement gaps of disadvantaged students vis-à-vis their non-disadvantaged counterparts. A research synthesis approach is adopted to summarize national assessments of Title I conducted between 1966 and 2011. These analyses are supplemented by the authors'…

Disadvantaged family socioeconomic status (SES) is often assumed to diminish parent training program effectiveness. In examining effects of SES, influences of initial problem severity have been largely ignored. In the present meta-analysis, we examined (a) whether there is a differential influence of SES on parent training effectiveness at…

The purpose of this research is to determine the effects of home-based programmes aimed specifically at improving developmental outcomes for preschool children from socially disadvantaged families. The authors searched the following databases between 7 October and 12 October 2010: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (2010,…

Since the 1960s, there have been continuing federal efforts to bring reform to scale in high-poverty elementary and secondary schools across the U.S. This paper traces the evolution of these efforts and discusses their impacts on achievement outcomes. Drawing on evidence from meta-analyses of the Title I evaluation literature and the Comprehensive…

Meta-analysis was conducted on 31 evaluations of 15 government-sponsored training programs for disadvantaged groups, 1964-1998. Earnings effects were largest for women, modest for men, and negligible for youth. Skills training increased earnings; basic education was not effective. No evidence was found that more expensive programs performed…

This paper uses meta-analysis to investigate whether random assignment (or experimental) evaluations of voluntary government-funded training programs for the disadvantaged have produced different conclusions than nonexperimental evaluations. Information includes several hundred estimates from 31 evaluations of 15 programs that operated between…