In spring 2010, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) began planning a pilot of an application for the Apple iPad, "HMH Fuse: Algebra 1," which was then in development. The application was to be piloted in four California school districts during the 2010-2011 school year. HMH contracted with Empirical Education Inc. to conduct a one-year…

This paper examines how controlling statistically for baseline covariates (especially pretests) improves the precision of studies that randomize schools to measure the impacts of educational interventions on student achievement. Part I of the paper introduces the concepts, issues, and options involved. Parts II and III present empirical findings…

The New York City Public Schools Office of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment annually evaluates the PCEN Math Skills Program. Evaluation objectives were devised to avoid additional testing by using tests already in place in the High School Testing Program as evaluation instruments. Objectives are that at least 50 percent of full-year program…

The Office of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment of the New York City Public Schools evaluates the Chapter 1 Math Skills program annually. Objectives, which were set by the Division of High Schools, are that at least 50 percent of full-year program participants will demonstrate a normal curve equivalent (NCE) gain of at least 1 unit as measured…

The Office of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment of the New York City public schools annually evaluates the AIDP English Instructional Services (EIS) program in reading and writing. Tests already in place in the High School Testing program are used as evaluation instruments. Program objectives include normal curve equivalent (NCE) gains of at…

The Office of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment of the New York City Public Schools annually evaluates the PCEN English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) program. Tests already in place in the High School Testing program are used as evaluation instruments. Objectives are that at least 50 percent of program participants will show a positive difference…

In spring 1986, new citywide testing programs in both reading and mathematics were implemented by the New York City Board of Education. In those cases where the test had changed, it was necessary to statistically equate the new tests to the old tests, so that comparisons of equated rather than actual scores could be made during the transitional…

The present study examined outcomes on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program/Achievement Test (TCAP/AT) for the KIPP:DIAMOND Academy (KIPP:DA), which is in its second year of operation. Importantly, as in Year 1, a rigorous quasi-experimental research design was employed, in which each KIPP:DA student was individually matched to a highly…

This paper studies pretest-to-posttest, posttest-to-sustained effect, and pretest-to-sustained effect changes for 3,775 students in grades 2 through 8 who participated in Chapter 1 reading/mathematics programs in Columbus (Ohio) Public Schools during the 1989-90 school year. Data for 16 analysis groups were collected in spring of 1989, 1990, and…

School districts receiving Chapter 1 funds are to conduct a study of sustained effects once every 3 years and to use the results for planning future Chapter 1 programs. As part of this effort, the Columbus (Ohio) public schools conducted pretest-to-posttest, posttest-to-sustained effect, and pretest-to-sustained effect studies of 4,031 students in…