IES Staff
Haigen Huang
Education Research Analyst
NCER
About
Improving Education Systems
Associated IES Content
Grant
School Characteristics, Classroom Processes, and PK-1 Learning and Development
The main objective of this project is to provide a more nuanced understanding of associations between school characteristics, classroom processes, and students' language, academic, executive function, and social skills between prekindergarten and grade 1 (PK-1). The first aim focuses on the associations between school characteristics (i.e., academic performance, strain, and organization of resources) and students' early learning. The second aim explores the degree to which school characteris...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A210538
Grant
Children's Longitudinal Development from Pre-K through High School as Disrupted by COVID-19
The purpose of this high school follow-up study of this longitudinal sample of students is to assess the nature and extent of COVID-19 related school disruptions and how those effects interact with prior school experiences (including pre-k attendance), various student characteristics, as well as the extent of the school disruptions experienced. Funded since 2009, this is a sample from the only longitudinal randomized control trial of a statewide prekindergarten program, evaluating the effect...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A210130
Improving Education Systems
The Improving Education Systems: Policies, Finance, Organization, Management, and Leadership (Systems) topic supports research on system-level education improvements at the school, district, state, or national level.
Using Longitudinal Data to Support State Education Policymaking
In FY 2021, IES began the Using Longitudinal Data to Support State Policymaking grant program (Using Data for Policymaking) to expand State agencies' use of their State Longitudinal Data Systems* (SLDS) for generating evidence in support of education policy decisions.
Grant
Improving Educational Stability and Opportunities for California's Foster Youth Students
Students in foster care are one of the most vulnerable groups enrolled in California public schools. Using a mixed-method approach, this project team will study school mobility for foster youth students, examine the changes in foster youth outcomes since the pandemic, understand how districts support learning recovery for foster youth students (with a focus on maintaining educational stability), and identify promising district actions that support foster youth students' educational stability...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305S240021
Grant
Boost Reading Efficacy: Evaluating the Impact of a Widely Used, Supplemental, Digital Reading Program on Elementary School Literacy
In this study, the researchers will evaluate the impact of a widely used supplemental digital reading program (Boost Reading) in grades 2 through 5. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in use of educational technology programs to accelerate learning, particularly in reading. However, there is limited research on the efficacy of these programs in general and for subgroups of underserved students. Additionally, there is little research on the variability of effects based on...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A240114
Grant
A Generalized Analysis of the Direct and Spillover Effects of Test-based Retention Policies
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of Florida's test-based retention policy. Under this policy, students who cannot demonstrate adequate reading ability at the end of third grade are retained in third grade and provided with retention-year interventions designed to improve their reading skills. Applying quasi-experimental methods to secondary data from three large Florida school districts, the researchers will answer four questions: (1) What is the effect of being retained ...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A240041
Grant
Navigating New Currents: Strengthening Family-School-Community Partnerships to Improve Outcomes for Pacific Island Students
In this study, the researchers will develop an intervention to increase the level and quality of parent-school partnerships with a specific focus on kindergarten through grade 5 (K-5) literacy, for Pacific Islander (PI) parents with students in K-5 and school staff. Data from the Oregon and Washington state departments of education indicate poor outcomes for these PI students at all grade levels and in all subjects, including literacy. Research indicates a disconnect between PI parents and t...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A240313
Grant
School Diversity and Long-Term Student Outcomes
In this study, researchers will examine the relationships among students' exposure to racially diverse kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) schooling environments and their educational, economic, civic, and social outcomes as they transition into adulthood. The research will answer four research questions:
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A240309
Grant
TIPS (Team-Initiated Problem Solving) Evaluation: An Effectiveness Replication of a Widely Used Problem-Solving Process for Data Teams Implementing Schoolwide Behavior Supports
In this impact study, the researchers aim to extend the findings from previously funded IES impact study, Teams Initiated Problem Solving (TIPS). This study evaluated the impact of the Schoolwide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) framework, which is frequently used by school teams engaged in universal-level data collection, decision-making, and implementation of behavior supports. The prior evaluation demonstrated positive impacts on problem-solving of school level PBIS d...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A240087
Grant
A Meta-Analysis of Summer Reading Benefits and Losses in Grades Kâ5
In this study, the researchers will conduct a meta-analysis of summer reading programs to help clarify what elements provide benefits for students and under what conditions. Current evidence offers conflicting information on whether kindergarten through grade 5 (K-5) students who do not participate in a summer reading program lose reading ability over the summer. Similarly, the evidence is mixed about the benefits of participating in summer reading interventions. To provide evidence, the res...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A240016
Grant
Ten-Year Follow-up of Two RCTs of CUNY's ASAP Model â Educational and Labor Market Outcomes
The research team will examine the 10-year impact of the City University of New York's (CUNY) Accelerated Studies in Associate Programs (ASAP) on education and labor market outcomes. CUNY ASAP is a 3-year program, designed and implemented by CUNY, that provides comprehensive supports including student support services, financial supports, and structured pathways. Since its inception in 2007, ASAP has served more than 88,000 students at CUNY, has been replicated across 7 states, and is widely...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A240240
Grant
Project REACT: A Multisite Randomized Controlled Trial to Improve College Re-Enrollment and Completion for Stopped-Out Students
In this project researchers will examine the effectiveness, implementation, and cost of the Re-Enrollment and Completion Team (REACT) program. This program draws on prior research regarding the components of interventions that promote persistence and degree completion among community college students and applies this research base to "near completers," namely students who have stopped out of college while being very close to completing an associate degree. The REACT program includes these ke...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A240245
Grant
Leveraging Washington State's Longitudinal Data System to Understand School-to-Work Pathways
Although the state of Washington has invested in policies to address inequities in educational opportunities for its learners, deep inequities persist in postsecondary degree attainment and earnings. Differences in the pathways young people take from high school to postsecondary education and work may be one mechanism causing these differences in outcomes. Much attention has been paid to traditional school-to-work routes, e.g., going straight to a 4-year degree program after graduating high ...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305S240017
Grant
Studying Heterogeneity in the Impact of Merit Aid Receipt and Loss on Academic and Labor Market Outcomes
This project will assess the effectiveness of the Tennessee HOPE Scholarship in promoting Tennessee students' access to and progression through college, their completion of postsecondary degrees, and their subsequent employment outcomes. The HOPE Scholarship is a merit-based financial aid program administered by the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (TSAC) and assessed by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC). The project will explore how the HOPE program affects students' ...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305S240001
Grant
An Understudied Topic: School Board Deliberations on How Funds Are Spent
In this project, the researchers will study school boards' deliberations on spending education funds and whether return-on-investment (ROI) training would change financial deliberations of school boards. The ROI training includes 8 hours of virtual modules that cover basic budgeting processes, managing vendor contracts against ROI, as well as cost and outcomes in budget tradeoffs, etc. The ROI training took place during fall or winter of the 2022-23 school year.
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305U230001
Grant
Centering the Whole Child: Understanding the Role of Comprehensive Student Support in Promoting Student Learning and Equity in Indiana
The Mary E. Walsh Center for Thriving Children at Boston College and the Indiana Department of Education will collaborate to understand the potential role of comprehensive student support in closing the gap in access to resources and helping students and schools succeed. This project team aims to examine the extent to which academic achievement and behavioral outcomes for marginalized students have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic disruptions and then focus on investigating the impact of ...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305S230013
Grant
A Collaborative Use of a State Longitudinal Data System: A Study of the Washington College Grant Program
This project will assess the effectiveness of the Washington College Grant (WCG) for increasing postsecondary access and attainment for low-income college students in Washington state and for improving equity in postsecondary education access and attainment for students from key demographic groups. The Washington state legislature has enacted the WCG as a need-based financial aid program to increase access to postsecondary education for Washington residents. The state intends for the program...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305S230019
Grant
Closing the Opportunity and Achievement Gaps in College and Career Readiness for Nevada Students
This project will examine the opportunity gaps that Nevada's Hispanic and English learner (EL) students face in reaching college and career readiness. EL and Hispanic students in the United States and Nevada have more limited access to advanced courses, lower levels of academic achievement, and lower high school graduation rates than their peers. They are also less likely to earn a college degree and often face constraints in accessing K-12 school resources (e.g., dollars per student spent o...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305S230005
Grant
Lessons from the Pandemic: The Effects of Remote Instructional Delivery and Recovery Strategies on Student Outcomes
The combination of family disruptions, closures of schools, and rapid transition to remote learning resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has substantially reduced achievement growth for many students, particularly students from traditionally marginalized populations. What is not currently known, however, is why some students fared better than others in a remote learning environment. In response, state education agencies and local school districts are implementing a variety of strategies to p...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A230400
Grant
Longitudinal Impacts of the Boston Prekindergarten Program Through Early Adulthood
Decades of research shows that children who attend preschool enter kindergarten with stronger school readiness skills. However, questions about how long the benefits of preschool last have persisted since the first major public investment in preschool in the U.S in the 1960s. In partnership with the Boston Public Schools (BPS), researchers will conduct a follow-up study of the impacts of the Boston Prekindergarten (Pre-K) Program into early adulthood. Researchers will follow four cohorts of ...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A220036
Grant
Early First-Dollar Categorical Need-Based Aid: A New Model for Making College Affordable?
The purpose of this project is to evaluate how the Tuition Incentive Program (TIP), a large first-dollar aid program in Michigan, impacts postsecondary outcomes for low-income high school students. 40 percent of Michigan high school graduates are eligible for TIP, which provides tuition assistance and fees for the first two years of college, and currently funds 25,000 students annually. TIP has three features that distinguish it from many state need-based financial aid programs: 1) It is a "...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A220070
Grant
The Implementation, Impact, and Cost-Effectiveness of Developmental Education Curricular Reform in California Community Colleges
This project will examine the effectiveness of sweeping developmental education (DE) reforms implemented across California community colleges, given increasing evidence that traditional DE harms students' chances of completing a credential, contributes to racial/ethnic gaps in completion, and represents a significant investment on the part of colleges and families. California's systemwide DE curricular reforms include revising placement criteria for introductory transfer-level math and Engli...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A210286
Grant
Scaling Up College Completion Efforts for Student Success (SUCCESS): A Multisite Randomized Controlled Trial
This project will evaluate the SUCCESS intervention, which provides evidence-based, mutually reinforcing support services to help community college students stay on track through graduation at an affordable cost for colleges. The intervention design seeks to address two problems that have emerged in the postsecondary research literature: (1) very few interventions have causal evidence of substantially increasing graduation rates at community colleges; and (2) the few interventions with such ...
Federal funding program:
Award number:
R305A210276
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