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Report
March 2019

Findings from a Study of Teach For America’s Summer Institutes

In summer 2016, TFA piloted a redesigned training model for its teachers that incorporated college- and career-ready standards and methods. This study examined how the new model was implemented at one TFA site and how it compared with the usual TFA training at other sites.

Issue Focus
March 2019

United2Read

Assessment-to-Instruction (A2i) is a data-driven professional support system that helps teachers tailor instruction for each child. When delivered with intensive in-person training, it is effective at improving students’ reading ability. This Issue Focus introduces the evaluation of a delivery model that uses technology to make the system more affordable.

Brief
March 2019

Engagement in New York City's Kindergarten Application

Parents applying to kindergarten today must follow multiple steps. Identifying families who do not apply can help a school system improve its application process and can help it target families who need support. MDRC partnered with the New York City Department of Education to conduct this sort of diagnosis.

Report
March 2019

Early Findings From the Family Self-Sufficiency Program Evaluation

This first national randomized controlled trial of the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program — the main federal strategy to help housing voucher recipients make progress toward economic mobility — examined program implementation, participants’ engagement, and impacts on labor force participation and benefits receipt in the first 24 months of this five-year program.

Methodological Publication
March 2019

Schools use individual screening tests to identify students at risk of falling behind in their reading levels. Could predictive analytics, incorporating multiple composite and subsection scores from a series of tests over time, do a better job of identifying at-risk students? Reflections on Methodology gives an example of this approach.

Brief
February 2019

Two Proven Strategies to Boost Summer Enrollment

Summer courses can help students progress to graduation, but most students do not enroll in them. An informational campaign incorporating behavioral science, tested with and without tuition assistance, increased summer enrollment. This brief presents findings from the Encouraging Additional Summer Enrollment (EASE) project following the reinstatement of year-round Pell grants.

Report
January 2019

Final Implementation and Impact Findings from the Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation-Strong Start

MIHOPE-Strong Start rigorously examined the effects of home visiting services, as provided by 66 local programs in 17 states, on outcomes such as low birth weight, preterm birth, and infant health care use. This final report details those effects as well as the services received by families in the programs.

Report
January 2019

Results from the Evaluation of PACE Center for Girls

PACE provides academic and extensive social services in a gender-responsive environment to girls at risk of juvenile justice system involvement. Over a one-year period, PACE increased school enrollment and attendance, as well as girls’ likelihood of being “on track” academically.

Issue Focus
January 2019

Successful Collaborations That Improve Outcomes in Prisoner Reentry and Child Support

In this article originally published in Policy & Practice magazine, MDRC's Dan Bloom and Cindy Redcross offer lessons from successful collaborations to improve employment and other outcomes for reentering prisoners and noncustodial parents.

Report
January 2019

Results from the Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation

Home visiting provides information, resources, and support to expectant low-income parents and low-income families with young children. This report provides the final results from a national evaluation of four major evidence-based models of home visiting.

Methodological Publication
January 2019

Lessons from the Grameen America Formative Evaluation

Random assignment is prized for its rigor, but it’s not always feasible to carry out. This Reflections in Methodology post outlines other strong options for studying the effects of a program and illustrates the application of some key considerations in a specific context.

Issue Focus
January 2019

A Case Study of PACE Center for Girls

MDRC worked closely with PACE in evaluating its program for girls. As an organization dedicated to continuous improvement, PACE used the implementation research findings to refine its services in several ways. This issue focus summarizes the study and the partnership and explains how the program applied some of the lessons.

Issue Focus
January 2019

The Incubator reviews the activities of another busy year — monthly posts, conference presentations, and dozens of MDRC publications informed by implementation research — and previews the topics of upcoming posts.

Brief
January 2019

Home visiting provides information, resources, and support to expectant low-income parents and low-income families with young children. This brief summarizes reports from two national studies of early childhood home visiting.

Report
January 2019

Stability and Change

Community organizations are at the center of neighborhood improvement efforts. But how do organizational networks evolve over time, and how does their evolution affect local capacity for positive change? This report takes on these questions to advance an understanding of how community networks function, and how to better support them.

Methodological Publication
December 2018

Observation tools allow researchers to rate practitioners’ use of a program or curriculum according to the time spent on its components and how they were implemented. Reflections on Methodology explains how researchers and model developers can collaborate to develop useful assessment tools and the benefits and challenges involved.

Brief
December 2018

A Case Study of Lorain County Community College’s Comprehensive Student Success Program

In 2014, Lorain County Community College launched Students Accelerating in Learning (SAIL), a comprehensive student success program that is substantially improving persistence and graduation rates among low-income students. This brief describes the steps Lorain took to fund and institutionalize SAIL that are now making it easier to sustain the program.

Issue Focus
December 2018

In 2018, MDRC has released more than 80 reports, briefs, infographics, blog posts, podcasts, videos, and technical assistance tools — all with the goal of improving policies and programs that affect low-income Americans. Check out 10 of our most popular releases.

Report
December 2018

Subsidized jobs programs seek to increase employment and earnings among individuals who have not been able to find jobs on their own. This report presents the perspectives of participants of 11 such programs. Although there were successes, the majority could not translate their experiences into unsubsidized work.

Report
December 2018

Summary Report on the Youth Villages Transitional Living Evaluation

This report summarizes an evaluation of a program that helps young people with histories of foster care or juvenile justice custody become independent adults. The program improved earnings, housing stability and economic well-being, and some health and safety outcomes. It did not improve education, social support, or criminal involvement outcomes.