Roadblocks To Implementing Randomized Controlled Trials In Educational Research

Good research in education is defined as randomized experiments. For a study to be eligible to earn the highest possible rating from the What Works Clearinghouse (Meets WWC Standards without Reservations), the arbiter of what constitutes rigorous research within the U.S. Department of Education, it must use random assignment to determine group membership. Furthermore, the Every Student Succeeds Act, the successor to No Child Left Behind, defines strong evidence of an intervention's effectiveness as being demonstrated through experimental study (e.g., a randomized control trial). This case study provides a detailed look into the complexities of planning and carrying out a randomized control trial for a large-scale research project. In August 2010, the Smithsonian Science Education Center, a division of the Smithsonian Institution, received a grant of more than US$25 million from the U.S. Department of Education Investing in Innovation program for a 5-year matched-pair randomized control trial study to validate its Leadership and Assistance for Science Education Reform (LASER) model in three very diverse regions of the United States: rural North Carolina, northern New Mexico, and the Houston Independent School District, in the 2011-2012 through 2013-2014 school years. From the selection and randomization of schools, to identifying an appropriate outcome measure, to the complications of data collection, to meeting a moving target of What Works Clearinghouse expectations, readers will come away with a hard-fought list of practical lessons learned and advice for carrying out rigorous research that meets high standards while being realistic in scope and execution.