About MDRC
As a technical research analyst for MDRC, Rizik helps colleges and universities use data to provide student services efficiently and successfully. Her projects include several randomized controlled trials: Integrated Planning and Advising for Student Success, which provides technology tools and data that help support students; Dana Center Mathematics Pathways (DCMP), which aims to allow community college students to complete relevant, credit-bearing, and transferable mathematics courses in one academic year; and Encouraging Additional Summer Enrollment (EASE), which uses behavioral insights and a financial incentive to boost summer enrollment rates. Rizik is also the data manager for the long-term follow-up study of the DCMP project, and for Multiple Measures Assessment, which evaluates placement programs that use multiple measures to improve course placements. Before joining MDRC in 2019, Rizik worked in developmental psychology research, focusing on child development in populations with low incomes. She also worked as a statistical consultant, helping with complex power analyses and machine-learning projects. She holds a BS in education and social policy with a concentration in psychology from Northwestern University, and a master’s in applied statistics from New York University.
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MDRC Publications
BriefAn Exploratory Study of Student Outcomes and Placement Practices
June, 2022Informed self-placement (ISP) helps college students determine whether they are ready for entry-level college courses or need remedial education first. This brief explores the potential of ISP to improve students’ access to college-level courses and gives colleges an opportunity to consider placement-method changes that may boost student success.
BriefMarch, 2022This brief prepared for the Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness presents interim findings from a random assignment evaluation of the Dana Center Mathematics Pathways (DCMP) program at four Texas community colleges. It also includes an exploratory analysis of the effectiveness of the program for various subgroups.
ReportThree-Semester Findings from an Experimental Study of Multiple Measures Assessment and Placement
December, 2021Some students are referred into developmental (or remedial) education inappropriately when placed using only standardized placement tests. When multiple measures assessment was used, students in Minnesota and Wisconsin were more likely to enroll and pass college-level math and English courses within three semesters. The additional cost of this alternative assessment averaged $33 per student.
Issue FocusA Synthesis of Post-Program Effects in Higher Education
March, 2021Some education programs’ early positive effects disappear over time, while other programs have unanticipated positive long-term effects. This Issue Focus introduces The Higher Education Randomized Controlled Trials, an examination of program effects after a postsecondary education program ends, using a database drawn from 31 MDRC projects, sampling 67,400 students.
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Other Publications
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Projects
Alexander Mayer, Michelle Ware, Frieda Molina, Hannah Dalporto, Andrea Vasquez, Susan Scrivener, John Diamond, Dorota Biedzio Rizik, Rashida Welbeck, Sophia Sutcliffe, Clinton Key, Melissa Boynton, Austin Slaughter, Erick Alonzo, Kalito Luna, Xavier Alemañy, Melissa West, Sumner PereraIncome share agreements (ISAs) are designed to help students pay for and attend postsecondary education and career training programs. With an ISA, students receive financial support to help cover the cost of their education and, in return, agree to pay a fixed percentage of their future income over a
...Dan Cullinan, Rashida Welbeck, Alyssa Ratledge, Tiffany Morton, Erika B. Lewy, Dorota Biedzio Rizik, Stanley DaiCollege students who place into developmental (remedial) education are substantially less likely to graduate than students who place into college-level courses. Most students are directed into developmental courses based on placement test scores. But large-scale studies have indicated that these test scores misplace substantial numbers of students — in other words, for...
Caitlin Anzelone, Michael J. Weiss, Melissa Boynton, Xavier Alemañy, Colin Hill, Camielle Headlam, Dorota Biedzio RizikThe Encouraging Additional Summer Enrollment (EASE) Project is a new initiative to improve community college persistence and completion in Ohio. The project will apply insights from behavioral science to design targeted messaging and financial incentives that encourage students to enroll in courses during the summer term.
In the U.S.,...
Alexander Mayer, Melissa Boynton, Michelle Ware, John Diamond, Rebekah O'Donoghue, Edith Yang, Dorota Biedzio Rizik, Erika B. LewyIntegrated Planning and Advising for Student Success (iPASS) is an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which recently made its second large investment in 26 colleges and universities engaged in technology-mediated advising reform.
The iPASS initiative provides technology tools and data about students’ academic...
Evan Weissman, Alexander Mayer, Amanda Grossman, John Diamond, Susan Sepanik, Dorota Biedzio Rizik, Elizabeth Zachry Rutschow, Elena Serna-WallenderAs community colleges try to increase graduation rates, one of the greatest challenges they face is improving the success of students in their developmental, or remedial, education programs. The Dana Center Mathematics Pathways (DCMP), formerly known as the New Mathways Project, was developed by the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of...