One type of intervention to help students navigate the tricky transition to ninth grade communicates to them that their brains can grow “stronger.” This evaluation of one such intervention finds that it changed students’ beliefs and attitudes and produced impacts on their average academic performance.

Behavioral science theory tells us that all program environments have cues that influence decision-making and behavior – nudges – that affect a person’s behavior and can affect participation, retention and efficiency. The November 2019 In Practice blog post explores real-life examples of nudges that improved program results.