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...

At the request of Pittsburgh Public Schools and the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, Mathematica has developed value-added models that aim to estimate the contributions of individual teachers and schools to the achievement of their students.

Provides a comprehensive profile of the program, including participant and school demographics, services offered, and performance outcomes, using 1999-2000 performance reports submitted by 355 projects serving over 300,000 participants. Notes that 97 percent of middle school participants and 95...

Secondary math teachers from Teach For America are more effective than other math teachers in the same schools; secondary math teachers from Teaching Fellows programs are as effective as, and in some cases more effective than, other math teachers in the same schools.

The Playworks program, an initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, places full-time coaches in low-income schools to provide opportunities for organized play during recess and throughout the school day. Using random assignment, Mathematica and the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and...