Evaluations

Researchers evaluated the impact of a vocabulary improvement “edutainment” program for young children, Big Word Club, on children’s receptive vocabulary. Researchers found that the Big Word Club increased students’ knowledge and retention of words included in the program without detracting from...

Researchers partnered with local agencies in King County, Washington to evaluate the impact of providing transit subsidies on rates of FTA in court. While the study was disrupted due to Covid-19, the pilot results indicated that transit subsidies had little effect on reducing FTA.

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of text message reminders on rates of failure to appear in court (FTA) among people who are unhoused and housed in rural Shasta County, California. The reminders reduced FTA rates for the housed population, but did not impact FTA rates...

Through a randomized evaluation, researchers examined the effects of partisan mail campaigns on voter turnout in state and municipal elections in Connecticut and New Jersey. Results indicate that partisan direct mail campaigns do little to stimulate voter turnout.

Researchers used Chicago’s school choice program, which uses a random lottery to allocate slots in elementary schools, to evaluate how the opportunity to attend a higher-quality school impacts academic achievement. They found that lottery winners are more likely to attend higher-performing schools...

Researchers, in partnership with the São Paulo Education Secretariat, conducted a randomized evaluation in ninth grade classrooms to investigate the mechanisms driving the effects of communicating with parents on education outcomes.

In partnership with the Government of Jharkhand, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to study the impact of unconditional, framed cash transfers to pregnant women and lactating mothers on child health.

Researchers are partnering with a financial institution in Paraguay to evaluate the impact of a range of tablet-based applications, which remind people to save and help them make savings goals, on savings behavior of low-income individuals.