MDRC

Nearly one-third of all U.S. colleges are located in a small town or rural area, yet small rural colleges remain a rarity in higher education randomized controlled trials (RCTs). There is wide agreement among researchers and practitioners that there is a dearth of research evidence on what works in rural colleges and for rural students. MDRC has been trying to boost the inclusion of small rural colleges in multisite RCTs as well as developing RCTs that are focused on rural colleges and rural students. This paper by Alyssa Ratledge presents observations from several projects to help inform other researchers on considerations that will support the inclusion of these colleges while preventing threats to validity in the research. https://lnkd.in/eH-JNGtu

Direct assessments of young learners offer important information that informs the work of educators and caregivers. For young learners, however, this experience in the spotlight can feel uncomfortable or stressful, especially when assessments are lengthy or have repetitive prompts. Over the last two years, MDRC's Measures for Early Success project has connected eight assessment-development teams with more than 500 early educators and caregivers and 1,500 pre-K children across the United States to develop inventive direct assessment approaches. This issue focus by Brenna Healy and Emily Hanno presents lessons on how to make conducting direct assessments less intimidating for young children. https://lnkd.in/esu7_bye

This summer MDRC welcomed nine Gueron Scholars to our NYC headquarters: Adelynne A., Sofia Dueñas, Stephanie Frías, Mariana Gamboa, Darcy Harrison, Jae Lockhart, Jason Mills, Klaudia W., and Kayla Willis.  During the eight-week internship and fellowship experience, the scholars developed capstone projects and advanced their dissertation research, presented their work to MDRC staff, shadowed MDRC project teams, attended lectures and site visits featuring external guest speakers, and engaged in professional networking — activities all focused on deepening their knowledge of the field of policy research and public service.  We extend special thanks to our guest speakers who graciously discussed their career trajectories and provided insights into the field:  ⭐ Former MDRC staff Judy Gueron, Robert Ivry, Jacklyn Altuna Willard, Meghan McCormick, Bethany Miller, and Fernando Medina.    ⭐ Current MDRC Board members Bridget Long, John King, and Candice Jones.    ⭐ Colleagues at The Volcker Alliance (Idalis Foster, Nathalia Trujillo, Peyton Marshak, Randi Gamble, Hamelin Batista Camilo, Maya Corrin, and Matan Ackelsberg); Community College Research Center (Tom Brock, Corinne Herlihy, Caroline Ebanks, Veronica Minaya, Amy Brown, Ellen Wasserman, Andrea Lopez Salazar, Zaakirah Rahman, Carl Lewandowski, Sarita Ore Quispe, and Mariel Bedoya); Yonkers Partners in Education (YPIE) (Sam Wallis and Marisa Swift); New York City Housing Authority (Andra Stanley); New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (Britany Orlebeke); Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies (Kayla Elliott and Gabrielle Smith Finnie); and the University of California, Berkeley (Ruben E. Canedo).    We also thank The Policy Academies (Lynette Rawlings, PhD, Alex Maza, Marlene Castro, and Micaja V.) for its continued partnership as well as its support in leading the capstone component this summer. MDRC was also pleased to have received funding from the William T. Grant Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, and private donors, and to have established partnerships with Penn State University’s College of Education and Hunter College’s Jewish Foundation for Education of Women (JFEW) scholarship program. We wish the 2025 Gueron Scholars the very best in their next set of endeavors and look forward to keeping in touch! 

Attending the California Workforce Association Meeting of the Minds conference next week? Join JVS at two sessions that will highlight our learnings from years of program, partnership, and policy data. Sep. 2 - "What If We Trusted Jobseekers? Cash Assistance as a Bold Workforce Strategy," featuring Dylan Ruggles, Vice President of Program Delivery at JVS, and Andrew Chen, Vice President of Impact Investments at Social Finance, and Talia Nagar, Senior Program Officer, Employment at Tipping Point Community. Moderated by Gabriela Jiménez, Director of Government and Community Affairs at JVS. This session will explore how direct cash support removes barriers to participation, reduces attrition, and improves job placement. Presenters will share lessons from implementation, funding strategies, and participant spending data to offer actionable insights for designing more effective workforce programs. Sep. 3 - "Turning Data into Action for Workforce Success: Using Learning Cycles to Boost Program Performance," featuring Kelcie Wong, Chief Program Officer at JVS, @and Director of Evaluation and Impact Yana Kusayeva, Director of Evaluation and Impact at JVS, Keith Olejniczak from MDRC. The presenters will introduce a learning cycle methodology that equips workforce providers to pinpoint and address operational challenges. Drawing on human-centered design and evidence-based practices, they will demonstrate how to transform siloed data into collaborative problem-solving, deeper stakeholder engagement, and lasting innovation in workforce programs. Check out the full schedule of events and register for these sessions at https://bit.ly/mmm-agenda #CWA #MeetingOfTheMinds #WorkforceDevelopment #CAWorkforce #CashAssistance #Data #JVS

Excited to be presenting at next week's California Workforce Association conference! 📢 Turning Data into Action for Workforce Success: Using Learning Cycles to Boost Program Performance JVS Bay Area has built a strong culture of data-driven decision making — from recruitment strategies to long-term outcome tracking. In partnership with MDRC, JVS implemented structured learning cycles that engaged frontline staff and participants in co-designing program improvements. This approach led to a measurable increase in completion rates (by 8 to 19 percentage points) in pilot cohorts. Presenters from JVS and MDRC will share their learning cycle methodology and offer tools to help workforce providers identify and address operational challenges. Their approach uses human-centered design and evidence-based practices to move beyond siloed data toward collaborative problem-solving, stakeholder engagement, and lasting innovation in workforce programs. ⭐ Kelcie Wong, Chief Program Officer, JVS - Bay Area ⭐ Yana Kusayeva, Director of Evaluation and Impact, JVS - Bay Area ⭐ Keith Olejniczak, Research Associate, MDRC https://lnkd.in/gwPhEuPA

It is exciting to partner with old friends at NPower and their fantastic team! ☀️Bertina Ceccarelli Kim L. Mitchell. I love all things Workforce Development, and am proud that our Research & Evaluation team, led by Matthew Mizel, will have the opportunity to help NPower scale their learner support services. Tremendous thanks to Ascendium Education Group and MDRC for this opportunity. Donna Wharton-Fields Frieda Molina #workforcedevelopment #socialimpact #STEP #philanthropy

This summer I had the pleasure of working for MDRC as a master’s level Gueron Scholar! As crazy as this summer has been, it’s also been such a blast learning more about education and social policy research! 😅 During my time at MDRC, I shadowed the Post-Secondary Education department and the Evidence to Practice team. The knowledge I have gained has been indescribable.🤗 Moreover, it was nice to work for an organization that allowed me to conceptualize the opportunities that could arise with my master degree. I even got the opportunity to conduct my own research project that resulted in impactful insights! The sky is truly the limit! 💫 I would like to thank everyone at MDRC! Specially, I would love to give a special shoutout to Samantha Wulfsohn , D. Crystal Byndloss , John Martinez, and Alex Maza for all of your mentorship this summer! I also would like to thank everyone who took the time to have me to pick their brains on Ph.D programs, the troubles of coding, or even what it’s like working full time as a Gen-Zer 😂 I also would like to thank the cohort of Gueron Scholars for an amazing summer, and I wish everyone the absolute best! 🫂☺️

There is less than one week left to vote for our SXSW EDU PanelPicker sessions! "Online, Offline, On Point: Teach Computer Science with Play" with FableVision’s Executive Producer Peter Stidwill, Georgia Public Broadcasting’s Laura Evans, and Constellations Center for Equity in Computing at Georgia Institute of Technology’s Bryan Evans https://lnkd.in/eYxkkw3w "Tiny Tech, Big Impact: Co-Designing the Future of Early Learning" with FableVision Producer Schuyler Fox, MDRC's Marta Benito-Gomez, Promise Venture Studio’s Karen Lien, and Acelero Learning's Lydia Carlis https://lnkd.in/eagvDjyU Voting closes August 24. Help us get to Austin, TX in 2026! #PanelPicker #SXSWEDU #ComputerScience #Codesign

"....Also, there has been a national movement to improve pathways from school to college, and career. During President Barack Obama’s tenure, he highlighted in his State of the Union address a school called Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH), begun on Albany Ave. in Brooklyn. The model school combines high school and college via concurrent enrollment with a clear path to both degrees and high wage careers in technology, health care and green jobs. "P-TECH has increased college completion and the successful model has spread to 15 states and 28 countries globally with more than 500 schools following the model begun with one school in Brooklyn. But in New York City, more than a dozen years later, there are only about 12 PTECH schools despite Obama saying that PTECH should be offered to all students across the U.S. and an independent evaluation conducted by the nationally-recognized MDRC, documented clearly its success. This too, is not a budget buster. "This is another opportunity for the next mayor to fulfill Obama’s mission by offering the PTECH program across the city...." via Stanley S. Litow in New York Daily News https://lnkd.in/eMiJgzFP

What a wonderful time at #SHEEO2025 with SHEEO (State Higher Education Executive Officers Association)! Congratulations again to Dr. Jim Purcell Alabama Commission on Higher Education on his exceptional leader award, and thank you to my fellow panelists for an exciting (and map-filled!) foray into rural higher education research networks with Alyssa Ratledge MDRC, Amanda Klafehn Tennessee Higher Education Commission/Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (THEC/TSAC), Jim Pinkard Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC), and @crystine miller Montana University System 🚂 🗺️