Evaluations

Policy Publications

Search our database of policy briefcases, bulletins, and evidence reviews. Briefcases summarize the results and policy recommendations from one randomized evaluation, while bulletins synthesize the broader policy lessons emerging from multiple evaluations on the same topic. Evidence reviews summarize an existing academic literature review, like a handbook chapter or white paper, for a policy audience.

Displaying 10-18 of 24
Classroom in Italy | Photo by Stefano Guidi Shutterstock.com

Mind the Gap: Aligning Immigrant Students' Aspirations to Abilities

Last Updated:
Last Updated:
November 27, 2018
Offering tutoring and career counseling to high-performing immigrant students closed the educational gap between native-born and immigrant boys in Italy.
Children and a teacher in the classroom. Photo: Shutterstock.com

Are All Students Ready for Boarding?

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Last Updated:
November 19, 2018
Disadvantaged students who attended France’s first “boarding school of excellence” had large improvements in math scores after two years. Students initially experienced reductions in well-being, but adjusted to their new environment by the second year.
parents attending school information meetings. Photo: Aude Guerrucci | J-PAL

Considering All the Options: A Low-Cost Way to Reduce School Dropout

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Last Updated:
November 19, 2018
Parent meetings with school principals that provided guidance on selecting academic tracks helped reduce grade repetition and high school dropout among low-achieving students in France.
College students

Simplifying the Barriers Along the Bridge to College

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Last Updated:
February 20, 2018
While past approaches to helping students transition to college have focused on increasing financial aid, the college application process itself presents a barrier to college access. J-PAL's new policy bulletin summarizes five randomized evaluations of interventions designed to improve college...
Children do arithmetic in chalk on a stone floor in India

Roll Call: Getting Children into School

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Last Updated:
August 8, 2017
Student participation is sensitive to the perceived costs and benefits of education. Although the costs are immediate and easy to observe, school quality and the long-run benefits of education are more difficult to perceive. Children, not only their parents, are important to consider when designing...
Two students work on a whiteboard

What Can We Learn from Charter School Lotteries in the United States?

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Last Updated:
May 1, 2017
The estimated impacts of charter schools have varied widely. In Massachusetts, students who won lotteries for charter schools located in urban areas often did substantially better than students who lost, while students who won lotteries for charter schools in nonurban areas fared, on average, about...

Moving to Opportunity

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Last Updated:
May 1, 2015
Neighborhoods matter for the well-being of residents. Helping families with young children living in high-poverty housing projects to move to lower-poverty neighborhoods improves the later-life outcomes for the children and may reduce the intergenerational persistence of poverty.

After the Transfers Stop

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Last Updated:
June 30, 2014
  • Karen Macours
  • Norbert Schady
  • Renos Vakis
  • Tania Barham
  • John Maluccio
Cash transfers directed to female caregivers in Nicaragua led to gains in child-development outcomes that persisted beyond the duration of the program.

Community Grants for the Next Generation

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Last Updated:
May 19, 2014
Community block grants improved health and education in Indonesian villages, and adding performance incentives sped up improvements in health.