Beware the pitfalls of short-term program effects: They often fade
Highlights: For many social programs, it is important from a policy perspective to know not just whether the program produces positive effects in the short term, but whether the effects endure long enough to constitute a meaningful improvement in participants’ lives....FDR’s call for “bold, persistent experimentation”: An antidote to 40-year stagnation in key areas of social policy (part two in a series)
Highlights: In our previous report, we described 40 years of stagnation in key areas of social policy— e.g., little change in earned income of low/moderate income Americans or in educational achievement of high school students. Given the stagnation’s endurance and...“Government by guesswork” is not solving the nation’s social problems. A fundamentally different—evidence based—approach is needed (part one in a series)
Highlights: In key areas of social policy, the United States has made little progress over many years: (i) The earned income of the bottom 40 percent of the population is almost unchanged since the late 1970s, after adjusting for inflation. (ii) The average reading...When Congressionally-authorized federal programs are evaluated in randomized controlled trials, most fall short. Reform is needed.
Highlights: In the history of U.S. social policy, the federal government has commissioned 13 large randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the effectiveness of ongoing, Congressionally-authorized federal programs, such as Head Start, Job Corps, Abstinence...How to solve U.S. social problems when most rigorous program evaluations find disappointing effects (part two – a proposed solution)
Highlights: As discussed in our previous Straight Talk report, the pattern of disappointing effects in most rigorous program evaluations is compelling and needs to be taken seriously if we hope to make progress in solving social problems. We suggest that policymakers,...Showing 6 of 7 Reviews