Teach Effectively!

Such a promising concept, no? Well, it’s sort of a mixed bag. There are descriptions of some education interventions that have been analyzed extensively with some that have had one or a few studies. There are some well-documented methods that are not included.

Anyway, here’s the list for education. Watch for the switch to the categories “Small/no effect,” “Ineffective,” “No effects/adverse effects” late in the list (I’ve highlighted them).

Good Behavior Game (A 1st-2nd grade classroom management strategy for decreasing disruptive/aggressive behavior): Randomized controlled trials show major reductions in students’ subsequent substance abuse, and behavioral and mental health disorders.

SMART – Start Making a Reader Today (Volunteer reading tutoring program for at-risk readers in early elementary school): Randomized controlled trial shows this low-cost intervention has sizable positive impact on students’ reading ability.

Tutoring with the Lindamood Phonemic Sequencing reading curriculum (An intervention for at-risk readers in grades K-2): Randomized controlled trial shows sizable positive impacts on reading ability for students with poor phonological processing (e.g., letter naming, and awareness of the sounds within words).

Career Academies (Small learning communities within low-income high schools that combine traditional academic courses with technical/occupational courses): Randomized controlled trial shows sizable positive impact on earnings of many participants four years after high school graduation.

Teach for America (Program to recruit and train teachers to be placed in low-income schools): Randomized controlled trial shows moderate positive impact on elementary school student math scores.

Small/no effect: New York City Voucher Experiment (Program offering vouchers to low income K-4 students in public schools, to enable them to transfer to private schools): Randomized controlled trial shows no overall impact on students’ math/reading achievement, but possibly a small positive impact on the subgroup of African-Americans.

Ineffective: Fast ForWord (Popular computerized reading intervention for at-risk readers in grades K-12): Randomized controlled trials show no significant effect on students’ reading achievement.

No effects/adverse effects: 21st Century Community Learning Centers (Federal program that funds after-school academic/recreational programs for K-8 students in mostly high-poverty schools): Randomized controlled trial of elementary (as opposed to middle) school Centers shows no improvement in academic achievement and adverse effects on student behavior. The Centers’ after-school programs vary in content, however, so this overall finding does not necessarily apply to each Center.

Link for the site.