Opportunistic experiments are a type of randomized controlled trial to study the effects of a planned intervention or policy change with minimal added disruption and cost. This guide defines opportunistic experiments and provides examples, discusses issues to consider when identifying potential...

This guide for district and school leaders shows how to recognize opportunities to embed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) into planned policies or programs. Opportunistic RCTs can generate strong evidence for informing education decisions—with minimal added cost and disruption. The...

This report shows that Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) middle schools have significant and substantial positive impacts on student achievement in four core academic subjects: reading, math, science, and social studies. One of the report’s analyses confirms the positive impacts using a...

Some educators are concerned that students with test scores at the bottom or top of the test score distribution will negatively affect the value-added estimates of teachers of those students.

This report describes the value-added models that were used to estimate measures of teacher and principal effectiveness in Charleston County School District for the 2013-2014 school year. These measures are combined with other measures in the district’s multi-dimensional BRIDGE evaluation...

This working paper investigates how empirical Bayes shrinkage, an approach commonly used in implementing teacher accountability systems, affects the value-added estimates of teachers of students with hard-to-predict achievement levels, such as students who have low prior achievement and receive...

This working paper uses urban school district data to investigate whether including track indicators or accounting for classroom characteristics in the value-added model is sufficient to eliminate potential bias resulting from the sorting of students into academic tracks. Accounting for two...

This report shows that Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) middle schools have significant and substantial positive impacts on student achievement in four core academic subjects: reading, math, science, and social studies. One of the report’s analyses confirms the positive impacts using a...