MDRC is informing the education policy debate by bringing to the evaluation of education initiatives the rigor that has made it one of the nation’s most renowned sources of authority for what works in programs targeted to meet the needs of low-income populations.  more

Making High School Students into “College Material” Too many students graduate from high school unprepared for the rigors of postsecondary education. College readiness programs seek to fill the gap. This issue focus describes some common features of these programs and outlines open research questions. Ninth-Grade Attendance Rates Predict High School Graduation MDRC Announces Doctoral Fellowship Program for Summer 2010 Michael Weiss Coauthors Report on School Financing Litigation in New Jersey MDRC Releases 2009-2010 Corporate Report

The Evaluation of Enhanced Academic Instruction in After-School Programs Final Report This report presents two-year implementation and impact findings on two supplemental academic instruction approaches developed for after-school settings -- one for math and one for reading. It addresses whether one-year impacts are different in the second year of program operations and whether students benefit from being offered two years of enhanced after-school academic instruction. Understanding Reading First What We Know, What We Don’t, and What’s Next Reengaging High School Dropouts Early Results of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program Evaluation Using Student Data to Improve Teaching and Learning Findings from an Evaluation of the Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading (FAST-R) Program in Boston Elementary Schools