Working Paper: NBER ID: w11846
Authors: Richard J. Murnane; Richard R. Nelson
Abstract: In an attempt to improve the quality of educational research, the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences has provided funding for 65 randomized controlled trials of educational interventions. We argue that this research methodology is more effective in providing guidance to extremely troubled schools about how to make some progress than guidance to schools trying to move from making some progress to becoming high performance organizations. We also argue that the conventional view of medical research -- discoveries made in specialized laboratories that are then tested using randomized control trials -- is an inaccurate description of the sources of advances in medical practice. Moreover, this conventional view of the sources of advances in medical practice leads to incorrect inferences about how to improve educational research. We illustrate this argument using evidence from the history of medical research on the treatment of cystic fibrosis.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: I21
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| RCTs (C90) | improvement in troubled schools (I24) |
| RCTs (C90) | positive outcomes for students (I24) |
| RCTs (C90) | evidence-based strategies (C90) |
| RCTs have limitations in high-performing schools (C90) | tailored approaches (C91) |
| educational practices complexity (A20) | limitations of RCTs (C90) |
| advances in education require nuanced understanding (I24) | RCTs limitations (C90) |
| RCTs reveal what works in specific contexts (C90) | understanding diverse needs of students (I24) |
| RCTs should be part of broader strategy (C90) | continuous monitoring and adaptation (O36) |