Randomized Controlled Trials
Randomized controlled trials are the gold standard in research, driving some of the most important advances in fields like technology and medicine—and we’re using them to do the same in education.
A randomized controlled trial, or RCT, produces rigorous causal evidence about the efficacy and impact of policies and programs. RCTs randomly assign participants to either a “treatment group” that is offered the intervention or a “control group” that has access to all other services except for the intervention. Because of the way they are designed, RCTs provide the best possible counterfactual to compare against when evaluating the impact of a program.
RCTs are the FDA standard for clinical trials of drugs and medical devices, form the backbone of A/B testing methodology that companies like Google use to develop more effective technology, and are at the vanguard of the growing movement towards evidence-based policy, which calls for policy to be based on the best available research.
The Education Lab uses RCTs as our preferred method of project evaluation wherever possible. While RCTs can be time and resource intensive, they generate high-quality results to ensure that our partners and policymakers can make informed decisions about how to best support students.
Latest Updates
The Case for Doubling Down on Tutoring, a Proven Solution We Can’t Afford to Lose
Accelerate CEO Kevin Huffman and Education Lab executive director Sadie Stockdale Jefferson penned an op-ed that calls for doubling down on investing in tutoring programs as federal aid winds down and academic gaps persist five years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Embedding High-Dosage Tutoring in Secondary Math Classes
MDRC published a blog post highlighting key takeaways from the implementation of a tutoring program in Fulton County, Georgia as a part of our Personalized Learning Initiative, offering a deeper look at the strategies that make tutoring successful and how schools can effectively implement them.
A restorative approach to student discipline shows promise in reducing suspensions and arrests
Suspensions are a common form of official discipline implemented in American schools, but can alternative approaches prove effective in reducing harmful student behavior?
