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
Every Choice Has Opportunity: Inside the ECHO Curriculum
The Crime Lab and Education Lab hosted a webinar to provide an in-depth look at the research behind ECHO, our approach to creating it, and an overview of resources and tips to get started with using the curriculum.
Philadelphia’s tutoring program shows promise but faces familiar obstacle: expanding it effectively
The Education Lab’s John Wolf spoke to Rebecca Redelmeier for Chalkbeat Philadelphia about our research showing high-dosage tutoring works—but only when students receive enough of it each week to produce measurable gains.
A Promising Start for Personalized Learning in Miami-Dade
Griffin Catalyst highlights its three-year gift to the Education Lab to bring an innovative, high-dosage, math tutoring initiative to middle schools in Miami-Dade County to support and accelerate student learning in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Initial results from the program are promising, suggesting that this approach can help tackle learning loss and enable students to catch up to grade level.
