Are Educational Trials for Boosting Academic Achievement in Schools Beneficial?

The research suggests that the educational trials aimed at increasing academic achievement in schools have often identical and uninformative effects.

Educational trials for boosting academic achievement

Are Educational Trials for Boosting Academic Achievement in Schools Beneficial?

Trials testing new educational methods in schools

New research published in the journal Education Researcher shows that educational trials or academic tests aimed at increasing academic achievement in schools are often identical and uninformative

And in the study it has been found that in the UK and USA 40% of large-scale randomized controlled trials (RCTs) failed to produce any evidence whether educational interventions helped promote academic achievement or not. 

Researchers evaluated 141 tests involving more than one million students, in which the schemes were tested whether the granting of free school breakfasts increases grades in mathematics and English or playing chess improves numerical skills. 

The authors of the study argue that there is an urgent need for more research to understand why RCTs are not so often and why they are uninformative in education. 

The authors also suggest a series of changes that can make the tests and trials more informative, in which it is considered incorporating high-standards that the new initiative is tested.

In the United Kingdom, Trials conducted by the charitable organization the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and in the United States of America, they were carried out by the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE). The trials were very expensive - their costs are often more than £ 500,000. 

Read the full article on ScienceDaily

Journal Reference:

Educational Researcher, 2019. Rigorous Large-Scale Educational RCTs Are Often Uninformative: Should We Be Concerned?. By Hugues Lortie-Forgues, Matthew Inglis. DOI: 10.3102/0013189X19832850

Story Source:

ScienceDaily, 15 March 2019. "Trials testing new educational methods in schools 'often fail to produce useful evidence': Educational trials aimed at boosting academic achievement in schools are often uninformative." Link = <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190315110913.htm>.