Evidence Matters Randomized Trials in Education Research

Evidence Matters explores the history and current status of research on practices in education, particularly the need for credible studies of the effects of education programs. The contributors to this volume direct particular attention to the use of randomized field trials, which are commonly used in other disciplines but rarely employed in education research. They also consider the use of other approaches to generating empirical evidence such as sample surveys, narrative studies, and exploratory research. In the first part of the book Judith Gueron discusses the difficulties in practice and their resolutions when randomization is used. Robert Boruch, Dorothy de Moya, and Brooke Snyder present many examples of evaluation in education and elsewhere using randomized field trials. David Cohen, Stephen Raudenbush, and Deborah Ball offer a historical view of progress in education since about 1960 and offer a research agenda. The remaining chapters examine various issues related to using randomized field trials. All of the authors understand that randomized trials are impossible at times but emphasize that they are more feasible and desirable than people usually recognize.

Deborah Loewenberg Ball, University of Michigan Robert Boruch, University of Pennsylvania Gary Burtless, Brookings Institution David K. Cohen, University of Michigan Thomas D. Cook, Northwestern University Dorothy de Moya, Campbell Collaboration Secretariat Judith M. Gueron, Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation Howard H. Hiatt, Harvard University and American Academy of Arts and Sciences Penny Janeway, American Academy of Arts and Sciences Frederick Mosteller, Harvard University Monique R. Payne, Northwestern University Paul E. Peterson, Harvard University Stephen W. Raudenbush, University of Michigan Brooke Snyder, University of Pennsylvania Maris A. Vinovskis, University of Michigan Carol H. Weiss, Harvard University