The Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy

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THE COALITION’S PUBLICATIONS INCLUDE:

• Published Op-Eds
• Policy Proposals
• Independent Assessments of the Coalition’s Work
• Guides to Research/Evaluation and Evidence-Based Programs
• Evidence Reviews

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Published Op-Eds/Letters to the Editor

• Long-Term Deficit Reduction: Less Pain, More Gain, by Robert M. Solow and Jon Baron, The Fiscal Times – 2010 (.pdf, 2 pages)
• Federal Programs for Youth: More of the Same Won’t Work, by Isabel Sawhill and Jon Baron, Youth Today – 2010 (.pdf, 2 pages)
• We Need a New Start for Head Start, by Isabel Sawhill and Jon Baron, Education Week- 2010 (.pdf, 3 pages)
• Randomized Controlled Trials: A Way to Stop Spinning Wheels, by Jon Baron, Education Week – 2009 (.pdf, 1 page)
• Addressing Colorado’s Budget Shortfall, by David Anderson, Denver Post - 2009 (.pdf, 2 pages)
• Making [Education] Policy Work: The Lesson From Medicine, by Jon Baron, Education Week – 2007 (.pdf, 3 pages)

Coalition Policy Proposals

• General Social Policy
  • Increasing the Independence of Federally-Funded Impact Evaluations, by Jacob Alex Klerman, Jon Baron, and Howard Rolston – 2010 (.pdf, 4 pages)
  • The Coalition’s Comments on the Social Innovation Fund, submitted to the Corporation for National and Community Service – 2009 (.pdf, 4 pages)
  • Proposal: An Executive Order To Institutionalize Evidence-Based Approaches in Federal Social Programs 2009 (.pdf, 2 pages)
  • Suggestions for the Administration’s New Social Entrepreneurship Initiative: Focus on building a body of research-proven programs, shown to produce major gains in education, poverty reduction, crime prevention, and other areas, 2009 (.pdf, 3 pages)
  • Invest in Research-Proven Programs for Children and Youth: A Key to Preventing Educational Failure, Substance Abuse, Crime, Teen Pregnancy, and Other Social Problems that Damage the Lives of Millions of Americans, 2008 (.pdf, 2 pages)
  • A New Bipartisan Initiative for U.S. Social Programs: Evidence-Based Reforms Are Key To Rapid Progress in Education, Poverty Reduction, Crime Prevention, and Other Areas, 2008 (.pdf, 2 pages)
  • Coordinated Initiatives Between Federal Research Agencies and Major Social Programs Can Rapidly Build Scientifically-Valid Knowledge About”What Works” in Social Policy 2005  (.pdf, 3 pages)
  • Linking Resources to Results, Council for Excellence in Government and Committee for Economic Development – 2001 (.pdf, 25 pages)

• Crime/Substance Abuse
  • Bringing Evidence-Driven Progress to Crime and Substance-Abuse Policy: A Recommended Federal Strategy 2003 – (.pdf, 28 pages)

• Early Childhood
  • Coalition Comments on HHS’s Evidence Criteria for its Home Visiting Program, 2010 (.pdf, 4 pages)
  • Early Childhood Home Visitation: Effectiveness of a National Initiative Depends Critically on Adherence to Rigorous Evidence About “What Works,” 2009 (.pdf, 2 pages + attachments)

• Education Policy
  • The Coalition’s Comments on the Investing in Innovation Fund, (U.S. Department of Education) – 2009 (.pdf, 3 pages + references)
  • A Critical Missing Piece in American Education Policy, by Isabel Sawhill, Sally Shaywitz, Joseph Torgesen, and Jon Baron – 2007 (.pdf, 2 pages)
  • Bringing Evidence-Driven Progress To Education: A Recommended Strategy for the U.S. Department of Education, 2002 (.pdf, 34 pages)
• Health Care
  • Overlooked Strategies To Cut Health Care Costs , 2009 (.pdf, 2 pages)
  • Reduce the Explosive Growth in U.S. Health Care Costs Through Rigorous Evidence About “What Works” To Contain Cost, 2009 (.pdf, 2 pages)

• Homeland/National Security
  • Rigorously Evaluating Strategies for Enhancing U.S. Port Security, 2006 (.pdf, 2 pages)
  • Rigorously Evaluating Strategies for Preparing Local Communities to Respond Effectively to Natural Disasters and Terrorist Attacks, 2006 (.pdf, pages)
  • Rigorously Evaluating Strategies to Undermine Public Support for Terrorists’ Violent Ideology in the Muslim World, 2005 (.pdf, 3 pages)

• Teen Pregnancy Prevention
  • HHS’s Evidence-Based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program: Excellent First Step, But Only 2 of 28 Approved Models Have Strong Evidence of Effectiveness, 2010 (.pdf, 2 pages)
    
• Technology Development
  • Testimony before the House Science Committee on the need to rigorously evaluate government strategies to fund technology development, 2007 (.pdf, 4 pages)

Independent Assessments of the Coalition’s Work

• Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy: Its Role in Advancing Evidence-Based Reform, 2004-2009, An independent assessment – 2009 (.pdf, 18 pages)
• A Preliminary Assessment of the OMB Help Desk, 2006 (.pdf, 8 pages)
• The Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy: Its Impact on Policy and Practice, 2004 (.pdf, 10 pages)

Coalition Guides to Research/Evaluation and Evidence-Based Programs

• Checklists for Reviewing Evaluations of Program Effectiveness
  • Checklist For Reviewing a Randomized Controlled Trial of a Social Program or Project, To Assess Whether It Produced Valid Evidence, 2007 (.pdf, 6 pages + cover)
  • Which Comparison-Group (”Quasi-Experimental”) Study Designs are Most Likely to Produce Valid Estimates of a Program’s Impact?: A Brief Overview and Sample Review Form, 2009 (.pdf, 3 pages + appendix)

• Hierarchy of Study Designs for Evaluating Effectiveness
  • Hierarchy of Study Designs for Evaluating the Effectiveness of a STEM Education Project or Practice, 2007 (.pdf, 7 pages + cover)
  • Which Study Designs Can Produce Rigorous Evidence of Program Effectiveness? A Brief Overview, Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy working paper – 2006 (.pdf, 14 pages)

• Guides for Sponsors of Research/Evaluation
  • How to Effectively Use the U.S. Department of Education’s “Priority for Scientifically Based Evaluation Methods”: A Brief Guide for Program Offices, 2008 (.pdf, 24 pages)
  • How to Find a Capable Evaluator to Conduct a Rigorous Evaluation of an Educational Program or Practice, 2007 (.pdf, 8 pages)
  • Developing an Effective Evaluation Strategy: Suggestions for Federal and State Education Officials, 2007 (.pdf, 6 pages)
  • Tools that OMB Examiners Can Use to Advance Rigorous Program Evaluations and the Use of Evaluation Findings in OMB/Agency Decision-Making, Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy working paper – authored by former OMB Deputy Associate Director Barry White – 2006  (.pdf, 8 pages)
  • How to Solicit Rigorous Evaluations of Mathematics and Science Partnerships (MSP) Projects: A User-Friendly Guide, Prepared in partnership with the National Opinon Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago, for the Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences – 2005 (.pdf, 17 pages)

• Guides for Researchers/Evaluators
  • Suggestions to Increase the Impact of your Research on Policy Decisions, by Jon Baron and Jerry Lee, Newsletter of the Academy of Experimental Criminology – 2007 (.pdf, 2 pages)
  • When is it Possible to Conduct a Randomized Controlled Trial in Education at Reduced Cost, Using Existing Data Sources? A Brief Overview, 2007 (.pdf, 13 pages)
  • Key Items to Get Right When Conducting a Randomized Controlled Trial in Education, Prepared in partnership with the What Works Clearinghouse, for the Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences  – 2005 (.pdf, 10 pages)
  • How to Report the Results of Your Study: A User-Friendly Guide for Evaluators of Educational Practices and Programs, Prepared in partnership with the What Works Clearinghouse, for the Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences  – 2005 (.pdf, 13 pages)
  • How to Conduct Rigorous Evaluations of Mathematics and Science Partnerships (MSP) Projects: A User-Friendly Guide, Prepared in partnership with the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago, for the Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences – 2005 (.pdf, 25 pages)

• Guides for Consumers of Research/Evaluation
  • How to Successfully Implement Evidence-Based Social Programs: A Brief Overview for Policymakers and Program Providers, 2006 (.pdf, 11 pages)
  • Identifying and Implementing Educational Practices Supported By Rigorous Evidence: A User-Friendly Guide, Prepared for the Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences – 2003 (.pdf, 28 pages)
  • Education Department press release on the User-Friendly Guide, 2003 (.pdf, 1 page)

Coalition Evidence Reviews

• Social Programs that Work – What works in social policy?  This website summarizes the results of well-conducted randomized controlled trials that have identified effective social interventions.
• Top Tier Evidence Initiative – A validated resource, used by Congress and the Executive Branch, to identify social programs meeting “Top Tier” evidence of effectiveness.