Most program evaluation efforts concentrate on assessments of "program implementation" and "program outcomes." However, another area of programs that has not received sufficient attention in the literature is evaluating the plan of the program. Since the quality of the plan and planning process can influence program…

In the United States, individualized language plans (ILPs) have gained traction across K-12 schools. Much like the Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) used in special education, ILPs outline individualized goals, accommodations, and services for multilingual learners for their language development; however, unlike IEPs, ILPs are developed at…

Large-scale education interventions aimed at diminishing disparities and generating equitable learning outcomes are often complex, involving multiple components and intended impacts. Evaluating implementation of complex interventions is challenging because of the interactive and emergent nature of intervention components. Methods that build from…

Diabetes is a significant population health threat. Evidence-based interventions, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Diabetes Prevention Program and diabetes self-management education and support programs, can help prevent, delay, or manage the disease. However, participation is suboptimal, especially among…

Great organizations have a clear sense of what they want to accomplish and how they are going to get there. For state boards of education, this vision and roadmap are typically articulated in a strategic plan. The best plans are living documents that guide state board actions or multiple years; lesser plans gather dust. What separates the two? The…

A growing body of research demonstrating the benefits of high quality early care and education (ECE) programs for young children, particularly those in families with low incomes, has inspired a strong commitment from both federal and state officials to improve the quality of ECE programs nationwide. Policymakers, administrators, and program and…

How do educators sustain K-12 district initiatives? Teaching and learning initiatives, despite being well-intentioned, often struggle to gain traction due to limited teacher acceptance or inconsistent program fidelity, so much so that many are familiar with the concept of "initiative decay." Even the most promising initiatives can…

Each year, educators engage in hours of professional learning to enhance their practice. Those hours are limited, both by contract and the imperative of keeping teachers in classrooms as much as possible. It is essential that this professional learning time is well-spent and pays dividends toward the goal of all public education: ensuring that…

Effective instructional coaching won't happen across a district without a well-specified coaching program and a reliable way to guide coaches. Fortunately, there are innovations from research and development efforts that can help districts put into practice the best ideas about instructional coaching. Andrew Wayne and Jane Coggshall describe how…

Intervention scientists have used program theory-driven evaluation to design, implement, and assess the success of intervention programs for decades. However, interventions often are designed without the input of the community for which they are intended. The lack of incorporation of community members' voices that participate in various…

Public schools are the cornerstone of this nation's communities, democracy, and economy. The challenges and deep inequities facing schools today are largely the result of decades of disinvestment, compounded by a global pandemic. All of this has led to a breaking point for the system of public education. In 2023, lawmakers and stakeholders are…

The provisions in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) include (1) the requirement for states to periodically review resource allocation in local education agencies (LEAs) serving a significant number of schools identified for comprehensive support and improvement (CSI),…

Approximately 450 community colleges nationally are part of formal statewide or national initiatives to implement guided pathways reforms to improve student success, and many other colleges are implementing guided pathways practices on their own. Because guided pathways is a whole-college reform--and because it takes several years to fully…

States continue to work to implement statewide accountability systems; publicly report extensive information on State and local report cards, as required under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA); and provide additional resources to schools designated for support and improvement. These systems are vital for improving outcomes…

The way flipped classrooms are perceived and even practiced by teachers is sometimes approximate. For instance, while the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed many universities to adopt distance learning, flipped classrooms have often been mentioned as a solution in that context. This inducement maintains a confusion between flipped classrooms and…