MDRC

Connecticut’s Jobs First initiative, launched before the 1996 federal welfare reform passed, included more stringent work requirements and time-limited benefits but also included financial incentives to encourage employment. MDRC's random assignment evaluation showed that Jobs First successfully promoted employment and decreased welfare dependency within its first four years, particularly for recipients facing the most significant employment obstacles. As the 30-year anniversary of welfare reform approaches, it is important to assess whether the “work-first” welfare system increased family earnings and employment over the long run. This brief assesses the impact of Connecticut’s Jobs First through 18 years. It finds that the effects of Jobs First on parental employment faded somewhat after Year 4 but remained statistically significant through Year 8. The program had no effect in Years 9 through 18, during which employment rates were very similar for the Jobs First and AFDC groups. Effects on average earnings did not persist beyond Year 4.?

We had a great meeting of the Economic Mobility Lab last week at MDRC's NYC offices! Thanks to our partners from the A. Philip Randolph Institute, JVS - Bay Area, Madison Strategies Group, Towards Employment, Brooklyn Workforce Innovations, and Maryland New Directions for the insightful discussions! Learn more about the Economic Mobility Lab here: https://lnkd.in/e7GBYgec

Very excited about the continued momentum behind SUNY's scale up of the ASAP and ACE programs, nationally celebrated evidence-based interventions shown through randomized controlled trials to improve persistence and completion! We are currently serving ~4200 students on 25 campuses and seeing very promising early results. With the funding Governor Hochul requested in her Executive Budget, we are poised to expand to new campuses and to double enrollment in the programs over the next two years. cc: MDRC, CUNY ASAP https://lnkd.in/e8MaPmD4

I had the privilege of working at MDRC for nearly 8 years and the people who come to work at this organization are among the most talented, mission-driven and hardworking people you can hire. They would most certainly be any asset to any organization.

Practical info related to implementing tutoring at scale.

In response to unfinished learning caused by the pandemic, school districts across the country have invested in evidence-based instructional models that accelerate student learning. High-dosage #tutoring (HDT), which typically involves a tutor working with small groups of three or four students at least three times a week during the school day, has been shown to have?positive effects on students’ learning. Fulton County Schools in Georgia was particularly interested in integrating HDT into sixth- through twelfth-grade math settings, as student math proficiency—measured via adaptive diagnostics tests and state math assessments—had?decreased by nearly half a year of learning?during the pandemic. This blog post describes key decisions that Fulton County secondary schools made over the course of the 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 school years when setting up their HDT program at full scale, with lessons about their successes, considerations, and the challenges they faced with each approach. [From the Personalized Learning Initiative with the University of Chicago Education Lab]

?? March is Reading Month! Students who struggle with reading risk falling behind without support. 1-on-1 tutoring can greatly enhance reading skills and build a foundation for future academic success. YPL is partnering with MDRC to evaluate Reading Partners, a program offering in-person and online 1-on-1 volunteer-based tutoring for students significantly behind in reading. #tutoring #reading #marchisreadingmonth #literacy #ReadingPartners Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eCZWfHR5

More than 40 states and the District of Columbia include college and career readiness in their school accountability systems. Many see readiness as a crucial aspect of our educational system and direct resources toward preparing students for college and careers. But ensuring students' long-term success can’t wait until high school or even middle school; it must start much earlier. Perhaps surprisingly to some, high-quality early math experiences in pre-K through the third grade are just as important as early literacy. Yet most children aren’t getting high-quality early math. Research shows that investments in early mathematics education can improve student outcomes, write MDRC's Shira Mattera & Sharon Huang and Laura Bornfreund of New America – Education Policy Program. The combination of skilled instruction and proven curricula creates a strong foundation for children's future mathematical understanding and academic success.

In developmental education and other areas ripe for reform, college administrators are better positioned than ever before to make decisions about adopting programs based on the effectiveness and cost of interventions, writes MDRC's Dan Cullinan. There is, however, a third piece of information critical to decision-making: the revenue an intervention could generate through increased student retention, course-taking, and degree attainment. MDRC’s?Intervention Return on Investment (ROI) tool?is a free interactive web application that allows community college administrators to estimate the costs and revenues associated with implementing an intervention at their college. The tool uses customized inputs such as regional prices, college expenditures, tuition prices, and state funding models to generate tailored estimates. State policymakers can also use these forecasts to make the case for an intervention’s financial benefits for students and the state and to identify gaps in funding that they can fill so colleges are able to implement and sustain interventions. via the Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness (CAPR)

To our collaborators:?Like many of our peer organizations, MDRC has had to reduce our staff in recent days, letting go of many talented and highly skilled professionals. Each of these colleagues would be an asset to another organization, and we encourage you to consider them for any career opportunities you may have. MDRC remains committed to our mission of learning what works to improve policy, practice, and people's well-being.