Founded in 1974, MDRC is committed to improving the lives of people with low incomes. We design promising new interventions, evaluate existing programs, and provide technical assistance to build better programs.
MDRC develops evidence about solutions to some of the nation’s most difficult problems. Explore our projects and variety of products, including publications, videos, podcast episodes, and resources for researchers and practitioners.
High-dosage tutoring (HDT) programs are a proven way to accelerate student learning. The Personalized Learning Initiative is studying and supporting the expansion of HDT across the country. This post shares what the team has learned so far plus a planning tool that districts can use to implement such programs.
A Synthesis of the Research for Employers and Local Governments
The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 encourages applicants for federal funding in domestic semiconductor manufacturing to include sectoral partnerships. MDRC has conducted nearly 15 years of research on sector strategies. This paper presents recommendations drawn from evidence that employers and local governments can use to implement sector strategies well.
Resisting Erasure in Higher Education Policy and Practice
A virtual roundtable brought together students, administrators, faculty members, and funders to examine and hear firsthand about the disparities, needs, and knowledge gaps affecting women of color in postsecondary education. This brief offers recommendations from the roundtable participants aimed at improving education and career outcomes for women students of color.
Two new MDRC reports published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development highlight both the long-term potential of the Jobs Plus employment program to improve economic mobility and the challenges of effectively expanding the model.
Changing labor market needs—particularly with regard to the clean energy sector—highlight the importance of developing new career and technical education (CTE) pathways. This working paper provides an overview of CTE policies and examines the need to improve the education and training pipeline to expand the climate workforce.
A Qualitative Sub-Study from the Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation (MIHOPE)
This report sheds light on participants’ perspectives of home visiting, using mothers’ own words. It explores how mothers who participated in home visiting programs perceived their experiences and relationships with home visitors, with a particular focus on building trusting relationships.
Many early elementary-grade students do not achieve literacy proficiency because they do not receive effective personalized literacy instruction. The Assessment-to-Instruction (A2i) Professional Support System helps teachers use differentiated small-group instruction to address that need. This study examined two models’ effectiveness in implementing A2i and improving student literacy in schools nationwide.
The guide provides recommendations about specifying implementation research questions, assessing whether and how a planned intervention is implemented, documenting the context in which an intervention is implemented, and measuring the difference between the intervention and what services the members of a control or comparison group receive.
Full Findings from the Pretrial Justice Collaborative
In place of bail, many jurisdictions are instead releasing people awaiting trial with varying levels of supervision in an effort to ensure that they appear in court and avoid new arrests. The analyses described in this report from two jurisdictions found that lower-intensity supervision was as effective as higher-intensity supervision.
MDRC Senior Vice President Dan Bloom reviews what MDRC’s evaluations of welfare-to-work programs say—and don’t say—about the effectiveness of work requirements and discusses the applicability of these findings to other public benefits programs.
How a Pilot Program Targeting Ninth-Graders Led to Shifting Sessions from Weekends and Evenings to Regular School Hours
A New Mexico Public Education Department program offering virtual, high-dosage tutoring sessions was aimed at reaching many more students across this large, rural state. Enrollment rates were lower than hoped for, however, especially among rural students, who had concerns about work and family commitments, internet connectivity, and other issues.
Full Findings from the Pretrial Justice Collaborative
Many jurisdictions use electronic monitoring (electronic devices that monitor people’s locations) and sobriety monitoring (drug and alcohol testing) as alternatives to pretrial detention. The analyses described in this report from four jurisdictions found that neither form of monitoring improves court appearance rates or the avoidance of new arrests.
A Framework for School Improvement and a Review of the Evidence
This report reviews 13 evaluations of comprehensive high school reform efforts, identifies the features of the models evaluated, and categorizes them to create a reform framework that can be generally applied. It also compiles information on prevalent features of reform models that have proven promising for improving student outcomes.
This issue focus traces the 25-year history of the Urban Assembly, an independent nonprofit that provides support services to public high schools in New York City. MDRC is conducting a study of Urban Assembly’s school support model.
A Study of College Transition Text-Based Messaging
Many underserved groups face barriers to college enrollment. This study evaluated a program that supplemented federal supports for these groups through text messages about securing financial aid, completing college enrollment, and navigating other barriers. The study found that adding the messaging program did not increase rates of college enrollment.
Create Wellness Communities and Schedule Staff Celebrations to Boost Morale and Well-Being
Many program managers are integrating self-care into their management strategies to address work-related stress. This post offers two group activities that managers can use to boost staff morale and promote well-being: wellness communities and monthly staff celebrations.
In a blog post originally published by New America, Meghan McCormick and Christina Weiland offer four lessons for states and localities interested in improving children’s access to high-quality public prekindergarten programs.
A Summary of Findings from the Strengthening the Implementation of Responsible Fatherhood Programs Study
This document summarizes what was learned in SIRF (Strengthening the Implementation of Responsible Fatherhood Programs), which engaged 10 programs in using learning cycles—repeated periods of implementing ideas and reflecting on the results—to build evidence on practices to improve the enrollment, engagement, and retention of fathers in fatherhood programs.
Five-Year Findings from the Family Self-Sufficiency Evaluation
The federal Family Self-Sufficiency program is a voluntary case-management and asset-building intervention that provides incentives to work for Housing Choice Voucher recipients. This report examines program implementation, participants’ engagement in services, and impacts on labor force participation and receipt of government benefits five years following random assignment.
Generation Work was launched in five cities to connect more young adults—especially those of color from low-income families—with meaningful employment by changing how workforce development systems prepare them for and support them in jobs. This publication previews findings from the first five years of the initiative.