Abstract For decades, social scientists have been trying to answer causal questions about the effectiveness of certain programs or policies. The conventional methodology for answering such causal questions relies on the “no interference between different units” assumption; that is, a...

This paper examines the impacts of four abstinence-only education programs on adolescent sexual activity and risks of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Based on an experimental design, the impact analysis uses survey data collected in 2005 and early 2006 from more than 2,000...

This paper examines the impacts of four abstinence-only education programs on adolescent sexual activity and risks of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Based on an experimental design, the impact analysis uses survey data collected in 2005 and early 2006 from more than 2,000...

Under the policy of direct certification for free school meals, school districts certify for free meals those enrolled students who are in households getting food stamps or welfare, based on information shared by state food stamp and welfare agencies. Students in these eligible households are...

This article draws on data and experiences observing and analyzing school lotteries from the National Evaluation of Charter School Impacts to describe challenges associated with lottery-based research. It presents evidence on the prevalence of oversubscribed charter middle schools and compares...

Programs using means tests to identify low-income households face a trade-off between promoting access and ensuring program integrity. The authors use a comparison-district design to estimate the effects of a pilot program to improve the accuracy of the process of certifying students for free or...

Programs using means tests to identify low-income households face a trade-off between promoting access and ensuring program integrity. In the case of the National School Lunch Program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently implemented a pilot program to improve the accuracy of the process...

This paper draws on data and experiences observing and analyzing school lotteries from the National Evaluation of Charter School Impacts (Gleason et al., 2010) to describe the challenges associated with lottery-based research. In that study, covering 36 charter middle schools in 15 states, we...