This pamphlet, prepared for the Institute of Education Sciences, describes the purpose of education program evaluation, defines random assignment and discusses its advantages over other approaches, and looks at other issues related to use of random assignment in scientifically based education...

Describes how various components of Mathematica's complex study fit together and explains perspectives and principles related to 1) distinguishing implemented programs from intended ones, 2) ensuring broad coverage to explore competing theories of effective programming, 3) collecting...

Elementary students participating in the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program felt safer than students not enrolled but were more likely to engage in negative behaviors. There were few impacts on student achievement overall and no difference between the treatment and control groups on...

Argues that we do not yet have a menu of program options for helping students at risk of dropping out and suggests a way to identify approaches that program developers can use while efforts to develop a stronger scientific basis for new programs continue.

A Research Report from the School Dropout Demonstration Assistance Program Evaluation.

This article presents evidence from the elementary school component of Mathematica’s national evaluation of the 21st Century Community Learning Center afterschool programs. The findings indicate that the programs affected the supervision students received after school, with parents less likely...

A Research Report from the School Dropout Demonstration Assistance Program Evaluation.