The College Possible program provides intensive coaching by near-peer mentors, peer group support, and opportunities for academic and non-cognitive skill building to low-income students through an intensive two-year curriculum in junior and senior years of high school. The goal of the program is to close the achievement gap between low-income…

This study evaluated the efficacy of the Word Learning Strategies (WLS) supplementary program designed to develop upper-elementary students' vocabulary skills in order to improve reading comprehension. The study used a true, group-randomized, experimental design, which randomly assigned 46 4th grade classrooms (n=1324 students) from 12 districts…

UTRPP addressed the i3 Development Grant Absolute Priority 1, Subpart 2: Increase equitable access to effective teachers or principals for low-income and high-need students. UTRPP infused comprehensive, job-embedded professional development (PD) for participating Residents and other teachers; established triads and quads to support Residents; and…

School mental health (SMH) services are widespread but are often not well integrated into school settings, based on evidence for effectiveness, or efficiently delivered. This paper presents results of a pilot study of a brief (4 session) assessment, engagement, triage, and initial intervention strategy for SMH clinicians working in high schools.…

We examined the effects of a professional development (PD) system designed to support teachers' use of data-based instruction (DBI) to improve early writing outcomes for children with intensive needs. The PD system, called DBI-TLC, provided "tools" for early writing assessment and intervention, "learning modules" including…

This research summary accompanies the report "Final Report of the i3 Impact Study of Making Sense of SCIENCE, 2016-17 through 2017-18." Science education has experienced a significant transition over the last decade, catalyzed by a re-envisioning of what students should know and be able to do in science. That re-envisioning culminated in…

In the United States today, more jobs than ever before require at least some postsecondary education. Yet too many young adults are either not enrolling or not succeeding in college. This scenario exists across many different types of communities, but schools in rural areas, particularly those with large populations of low-income students, face…

There are a growing number of school-based interventions designed to promote children's social and emotional learning. One such intervention, PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies), was evaluated in a randomised controlled trial involving 5074 pupils aged 4-6 years at baseline in 56 primary schools across a large city in the UK. The…

In 2013, the Arizona State University (ASU) Preparatory Academy (ASU Prep) was awarded an Investing in Innovation (i3) Grant through the U.S. Department of Education. The district applied with an ambitious grant designed to innovate programming for a total of six schools: two elementary (one Kindergarten through grade 5; one Kindergarten through…

These appendices accompany the report "Final Report of the i3 Impact Study of Making Sense of SCIENCE, 2016-17 through 2017-18." Science education has experienced a significant transition over the last decade, catalyzed by a re-envisioning of what students should know and be able to do in science. That re-envisioning culminated in the…

Although paraprofessionals have become an increasingly integral part of special education services, most paraprofessionals lack training in evidence-based instructional strategies. We used a randomized contolled experimental design to examine the efficacy of a professional development training package and its individual components to equip 25…

Nationally, two-thirds of high school students are unable to read and comprehend complex academic materials, think critically about texts, and synthesize information from multiple sources, or communicate what they have learned. Without a substantial change in their academic literacy, U.S. high school students face continued academic problems in…

A 2-year, randomized control trial with 9th to 10th grade students with significant reading problems was provided for 50 minutes a day in small groups. Comparison students were provided an elective class and treatment students the reading intervention. Students were identified as demonstrating reading difficulties through failure on their state…

In 2010, Iredell-Statesville Schools was awarded an Investing in Innovation grant (i3) from the Office of Innovation and Improvement within the Federal Department of Education. Collaborative Organizational Model to Promote Aligned Support Structures (COMPASS) is a development grant that seeks to meet the needs of students with disabilities,…

Empirical Education Inc. is the independent evaluator of WestEd's 2012 i3 Development grant for Internet-based Reading Apprenticeship Improving Science Education (iRAISE). This interim report provides an update on the progress of the randomized control trial (RCT) during the 2014-2015 school year. The RCT measures the impact of iRAISE on student…