Evidence First

Latest Episodes:

Do Industry-Recognized Credentials Help Students Transition to College and Careers? A Conversation with Matt Giani Jan 10, 2023

Show notes

Industry-recognized credentials, or IRCs, are an increasingly common strategy used to demonstrate that high school students have learned skills or competencies in a specific industry or occupation. But what do we know about their impact on student outcomes? And do they help students succeed in college and in the labor market?

In this episode, Leigh Parise talks with Matt Giani, a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and a Faculty Affiliate in the Texas Behavioral Science and Policy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, about his study for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute that looks at the education and employment outcomes of Texas students who earn IRCs in high school.

Promoting Equity in College Completion: An Interview with Amanda Janice Roberson and Jinann Bitar Dec 19, 2022

Show notes

While the percentage of adults with a postsecondary degree has increased over the past several decades, there are large gaps in degree attainment by race, ethnicity, and income. In this episode, Leigh Parise talks with two higher education experts—Amanda Janice Roberson at the Institute for Higher Education Policy and Jinann Bitar at The Education Trust—about policies and practices to advance equitable student outcomes in higher education, including the federal College Completion Fund.

Bringing Procedural Justice Principles to Child Support Programs Dec 15, 2022

Show notes

Child support agencies aim to secure payments from noncustodial parents to support the well-being of their children. When noncustodial parents fall behind on child support, they may face consequences, such as driver's license suspensions, civil contempt, and even jail time. These enforcement actions can make it harder for parents to make future child support payments.

The Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) demonstration, sponsored by the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), integrates principles of procedural justice into enforcement practices in six child support agencies across the United States. Procedural justice is the perception of fairness in processes that resolve disputes and result in decisions. Research has shown that if people perceive a process to be fair, they will be more likely to comply with the outcome of that process, whether or not the outcome is favorable to them.

MDRC, MEF Associates, and the Center for Court Innovation are evaluating the effectiveness of the PJAC model. As part of the demonstration, the PJAC Peer Learning initiative provided training and support to several additional child support agencies that were interested in procedural justice but not part of the PJAC study.

In this episode, Leigh Parise talks with Michael Hayes and Tanya Johnson from OCSE, Melissa Froehle from Minnesota Child Support Enforcement, and Maria Lasecki, Director of Brown County Child Support in Wisconsin, about the role of procedural justice in child support, how the Peer Learning initiative works, and what the sites have learned so far.

Is Individualized Instruction the Answer to the Pandemic's Unfinished Learning? A Discussion with Andy Rotherham and William Corrin Nov 03, 2022

Show notes

The pandemic has had devastating effects on students' learning. One strategy to help students is individualized instruction, which includes interventions like tutoring. In this lively episode, Leigh Parise talks with Andy Rotherham, cofounder of Bellwether, a national education nonprofit organization, and William Corrin, the director of MDRC's K-12 Education policy area, about the promise, challenges, and politics of implementing individualized instruction.

Training Students for the Green Jobs of Tomorrow Sep 22, 2022

Show notes

Green jobs in diverse industries, such as transportation, construction, environmental management, and agriculture, have grown in recent years and are predicted to further increase in the future. Filling these jobs will require a skilled workforce, yet federal investments in training for green jobs have focused mostly on adults. In this episode, Leigh Parise talks with Rachel Rosen, a senior research associate and co-director of MDRC's Center for Effective Career and Technical Education, on evidence-based strategies that can help create pathways for careers in the green economy for young people.

Improving Pre-K Assessments: An Interview with Preschool Teachers Aug 10, 2022

Show notes

The majority of children in the United States now attend some type of formal pre-K program before starting elementary school. Pre-K assessments—or short tests and activities that measure early skills—are an important tool for understanding children's learning and development in these settings.

In this episode, Leigh Parise talks with Lia Wilson, the Preschool Program Coordinator at the Parent Infant Center in Philadelphia, and Brooks Wilson, a Lead Teacher at the Center, to gain their perspective of the assessment process and how it can be improved.

Improving Pre-K Assessments: An Interview with School Administrators May 20, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, Leigh Parise talks with two leaders from the AppleTree Institute—Dr. Niesha Keemer, Principal and Instructional Leader, and Dr. Abby Carlson, Director of Research and Impact— about the benefits of pre-K assessments and the AppleTree Institute's Every Child Ready model.

Considerations for Jurisdictions Seeking Pretrial Reform Apr 14, 2022

Show notes

As part of the criminal justice system, the pretrial system is set up to ensure individuals appear in court to maintain public safety and maximize pretrial release. But over the last few decades, a more punitive approach to pretrial justice has evolved, in which jailing individuals who haven't been convicted of a crime has become the norm in many jurisdictions. In many cases, individuals remain in jail pretrial simply because they cannot afford the cash bail set in their case. As a result, people with low incomes, unable to pay for their freedom, are more likely to suffer the consequences of pretrial detention, including major disruptions to work and family life, regardless of their likelihood of returning to court or the risk they pose to public safety. To combat the rise in jail populations and to make pretrial practices more equitable, jurisdictions across the country are seeking to reform their pretrial systems.

THE-RCT Database: A New Resource for Analyzing Studies of Postsecondary Education Interventions Jan 26, 2022

Show notes

Improving outcomes for community college students has long been the focus of rigorous research studies by MDRC and others. Through a project called The Higher Education Randomized Controlled Trial, or THE-RCT, MDRC has created a broadly accessible database that compiles student-level data from all MDRC's randomized controlled trial evaluations of postsecondary education programs. Researchers are able to use the database to conduct analyses across studies to answer important questions about the effectiveness of different higher education interventions. THE-RCT is supported by Arnold Ventures and the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education.

In this episode, Leigh Parise talks with Michael Weiss, a Senior Fellow in MDRC's Postsecondary Education policy area, about how MDRC has used this database, how other researchers can access it, and how MDRC is encouraging colleagues to contribute their own studies to THE-RCT.

Providing Comprehensive Support Services to College Students: An Interview with SUCCESS Students and Coaches Dec 09, 2021

Show notes

A growing body of research shows that comprehensive student support programs can increase graduation rates for students from low-income backgrounds and students of color. But what do these programs look like on the ground? And what are the experiences of students participating in them?

In this episode, Leigh Parise talks with students and staff from Ivy Tech Community College in Bloomington, Indiana about SUCCESS, a student support program that offers personalized advising and financial incentives and emphasizes data-driven program management.

Ivy Tech Community College in Bloomington is one of 13 colleges across five states participating in MDRC's Scaling Up College Completion Efforts for Student Success (SUCCESS), which aims to increase degree completion through the implementation of comprehensive support programs based on strong evidence.

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