Grantee: Leading Educators
Study Type: RCT
Principal Investigator: Kata Mihaly, Isaac M. Cooper, Lucas Greer – RAND Corporation
Project Description: This is randomized controlled trial (RCT) of Leading Educators, a teacher professional development program designed to improve elementary- and middle-school students’ math and English language arts achievement. In the context of this study, the program provided one to three teacher-leaders per participating school with intensive trainings over a two-year period, totaling more than 100 hours of required activities (e.g., a summer institute focused on math and English language arts instructional training). The study took place from 2016 through 2020 and the sample was comprised of 40 schools in Chicago, IL that were randomized to either receive the Leading Educators program or a control group. This report focuses on percentile growth on standardized math and English language arts tests for the subset of approximately 3,500 students who attended sample schools during the 2018-19 school year and for whom test scores were available.
Key Findings: Students attending schools that were randomly assigned to the Chicago Collaborative program had statistically significantly higher test scores compared with students attending schools that were randomly assigned to the control group. Improvements in test score varied by subgroups, with larger effects in middle school. However, these differences were not statistically significant.
Study Citation: Mihaly, Kata, Isaac M. Opper, and Lucas Greer, The Impact and Implementation of the Chicago Collaborative Teacher Professional Development Program. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2022.
The Key Findings above were reproduced from the published report and do not necessarily reflect interpretation of Overdeck Family Foundation staff.
Enhancing each stage of childhood learning, from birth to high school.
Overdeck Family Foundation focuses exclusively on education, providing funding across four focus areas that encompass the whole child from birth through high school both inside and outside the classroom.