Random!

Two new evals from MDRC worth checking out.  One on helping prisoners transition back into society and one on after-school programs.   I flag the prisoner one for two reasons.  First, it’s just an important issue — and if you think public schools have some problems check out the education and support programs in prisons.   But, second, it shows that there are more randomized studies (RFT’s) going on than people assume, something with some i3 implications (more on that hopefully next week).   And, it shows that RFTs don’t relieve anyone of the burden of being thoughtful about what the results show or don’t show.   Lisbeth Schorr has been writing on the limits of RFT’s in evaluation, well-worth checking out, but as with many issues around research isn’t the issue as much one of intelligent consumption as of  methodology?