Lottery-based identification strategies offer potential for generating the next generation of evidence on U.S. early education programs. The authors' collaborative network of five research teams applying this design in early education settings and methods experts has identified six challenges that need to be carefully considered in this next…

This article offers a case example of how experimental evaluation methods can be coupled with principles of design-based implementation research (DBIR), improvement science (IS), and rapid-cycle evaluation (RCE) methods to provide relatively quick, low-cost, credible assessments of strategies designed to improve programs, policies, or practices.…

Because standardized tests in science are not given to PreK-3 students in Ohio, this report examined the longitudinal effects of learning from a teacher who had participated in the NURTURES professional development program. Specifically, it looked at the effects on students' mathematics and reading learning in grades 2-5 and science learning in…

This report derives its findings from Summer/Fall 2023 phone interviews with 22 facilitators and eight administrators following their participation in Math for All during the 2022-23 school year. The findings, summarized below, provide insight into the implementation experience, including challenges, areas of success, and plans for sustaining and…

Energy concepts are taught in many schools, but children rarely have an opportunity to grapple with energy problems and work on their own solutions. This study explores the impacts of Connect Science, a service-learning (SL) program developed to enhance elementary students' energy literacy in the United States. Program impacts were explored within…

This report from the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Research Network Lead team provides final results from an evaluability assessment of CTE programs that feasibly could be evaluated using a rigorous experimental design. Evaluability assessments (also called feasibility studies) are used in education and other fields, such as international…

Given the widespread use of non-experimental (NE) methods for assessing program impacts, there is a strong need to know whether NE approaches yield causally valid results in field settings. In within-study comparison (WSC) designs, the researcher compares treatment effects from an NE with those obtained from a randomized experiment that shares the…

Purpose: This study evaluated the effects of an automated, small-group intervention designed to teach preschoolers challenging vocabulary words. Previous studies have provided evidence of efficacy. In this study, we evaluated the effects of the program after doubling the number of words taught from 2 to 4 words per book. Method: Seventeen…

Educators have shown reluctance to implement interventions aimed at improving racial equity in school disciplinary practice. Mixed methods were applied to assess and improve the acceptability of a new intervention designed to reduce racial disparities in school discipline. A descriptive concurrent parallel design was used to assess educators'…

Schools are increasingly turning towards restorative practices as a pathway to building schools with stronger relationships, justice, and equity. While effectiveness studies are increasing, too little attention is focused on evaluating implementation. This resources is for audiences who evaluate implementation of whole school restorative practices…

This study evaluated the feasibility of the Knowledge, Language, and Inquiry (K.L.I.) intervention, designed to support Grades 3-5 multilingual students classified as English learners (ML-ELs) in building content knowledge, language skills, and reading comprehension through inquiry-based small-group instruction. Feasibility was examined across…

Purpose: This study presents a novel methodology/process for assessing inclusion of theoretically-based implementation factors within available adoption-ready health promotion programs. Methods: Classroom-based physical activity (CBPA) programs were used as an example to describe the process. Our team selected an implementation science framework…

Social-emotional learning (SEL) programs are frequently evaluated using randomized controlled trial (RCT) methodology as a means to assess program impacts. What is often missing in RCT studies is a robust parallel investigation of the multi-level implementation of the program. The field of implementation science bridges the gap between the RCT…

Understanding digital supports for early learning is paramount for school readiness and later mathematics learning. We present results from a randomized control trial evaluating a digital app (Measure Up!) and a parent companion app (Super Vision) designed to teach children measurement concepts, a skill that many teachers do not feel comfortable…

This study describes the implementation and findings from a consultation process designed to enhance the professional development (PD) offered to teachers working in Virginia's state-funded preschool program. A PD Rubric was developed to translate research on effective PD (i.e., PD practices linked to positive changes in teacher practice and/or…