Multiyear Studies

REL-NEI conducted two long-term randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that investigate the causal impact of programs and products on student achievement in areas identified as high priority in our region.

To browse or search other RCTs funded by the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education, visit the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Registry of Randomized Controlled Trials. This online database gives educators, researchers, and evaluators one-stop access to information about ongoing and completed RCTs. Visitors can browse by evaluation title, sponsor organization, status, and target population, and view detailed study information, including principal investigators, related publications, characteristics of participants, and outcomes.

Access to Algebra I: The Effects of Online Mathematics for Grade 8 Students

This report presents findings from a randomized controlled trial designed to inform the decisions of policymakers who are considering using online courses to provide access to Algebra I in grade 8. It focuses on students judged by their schools to be ready to take Algebra I in grade 8 but who attend schools that do not offer the course. The study tested the impact of offering an online Algebra I course on students’ algebra achievement at the end of grade 8 and their subsequent likelihood of participating in an advanced mathematics course sequence in high school. The study was designed to respond to both broad public interest in the deployment of online courses for K–12 students and to calls from policymakers to provide students with adequate pathways to advanced coursetaking sequences in mathematics (National Mathematics Advisory Panel 2008).

Impact of the Thinking Reader™ Software Program on Grade 6 Reading Vocabulary, Comprehension, Strategies, and Motivation

The Thinking Reader Study examines the impact of an interactive computer-based program on reading achievement. The goal of the program is to help advance literacy development, especially comprehension and vocabulary skills, among middle-grades students. The software uses digital versions of nine popular, multicultural, award-winning novels read online in an interactive environment.

During the Thinking Reader Study, the program was used by sixth-grade teachers and their students as a supplement to their regular English language arts curriculum. A study team collected data on how the program was used and its impact on student achievement, as measured by pre- and post-tests.

The study took place place during the 2008–2009 school year in 32 public schools in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. The Institute of Education Sciences published the findings in April 2011.