Title,Citation,Topic_area,Study_type,Study_evidence_rating,Outcome_effectiveness,Findings,Intervention_program,Topics,Target_population,Firm_characteristics,Geographic_setting,Original_publication_date,Original_publication_link,"Review Protocol" "The (surprising) efficacy of academic and behavioral intervention with disadvantaged youth: Results from a randomized experiment in Chicago","Cook, P., Dodge, K., Farkas, G., Fryer, R., Guryan, J., Ludwig, J. Mayer, S., Pollack, H., & Steinberg, L. (2014). The (surprising) efficacy of academic and behavioral intervention with disadvantaged youth: Results from a randomized experiment in Chicago. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.","Opportunities for Youth","Study Type: Causal Impact Analysis","Causal Evidence Rating: High Causal Evidence","Education and skills gains-Mod/high-Favorable impacts Education and skills gains","Summary: The study’s objective was to examine the impact of the Becoming a Man (BAM) program on youths’ academic outcomes, including grade point averages (GPAs), course failures, and achievement test scores. BAM provided mentoring and socialization activities to enhance cognitive, decision-making, and social skills. The study was a randomized controlled trial conducted in one high school on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, in 2012–2013. Eligible youth were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1) a treatment group receiving BAM only, in which individuals could participate in the BAM program; (2) a treatment group receiving BAM plus tutoring, in which individuals could participate in the BAM program and received daily tutoring in math; or (3) the control group, which could not participate in BAM but could access existing services at their school. The authors estimated regressions to measure the impact of the BAM program on academic achievement using administrative data from Chicago Public Schools. The study found that youth offered the opportunity to participate in BAM—either with or without supplemental tutoring—had significantly higher math achievement test scores than youth in the control group. In addition, youth in the BAM program group and the BAM plus tutoring program group had significantly higher math GPAs than members of the control group. The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is high for the GPA and course failures outcomes because it was based on a randomized controlled trial with low attrition. This means we are confident that the estimated effects are attributable to BAM and/or the tutoring sessions, and not to other factors. The quality of causal evidence is moderate for the math and reading achievement outcomes because these outcomes had high attrition but the authors included sufficient controls in their analysis. This means we are somewhat confident that the estimated effects are attributable to BAM and/or tutoring sessions, but other factors might also have contributed.","Becoming a Man","Mentoring Other training and education Youth programs Behavioral Interventions","Youth, Male, Low-skilled, Low income",,"United States, Urban",2014,http://www.nber.org/papers/w19862.pdf,"Opportunities for Youth Review Protocol" "Preventing youth violence and dropout: A randomized field experiment (No. w19014)","Heller, S., Pollack, H. A., Ander, R., & Ludwig, J. (2013). Preventing youth violence and dropout: A randomized field experiment (No. w19014). Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.","Opportunities for Youth","Study Type: Causal Impact Analysis","Causal Evidence Rating: High Causal Evidence","Education and skills gains-Mod/high-Favorable impacts Education and skills gains","Summary: The study’s objective was to examine the impact of the Becoming a Man program on arrest and educational outcomes. The study was a randomized controlled trial. Eligible male youth from 18 public schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods were screened for eligibility. The 2,740 who met requirements were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups or a control group. The study found that being offered the opportunity to participate in the program reduced violent crime arrests during the program year and improved schooling outcomes in both the program and follow-up years. The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is high because it was based on a well-implemented randomized controlled trial. This means we are confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the Becoming a Man program, and not to other factors.","Becoming a Man","Other training and education Safety Youth programs Behavioral Interventions","Youth, Disconnected youth, Male, Low income",,"United States, Urban",2013,http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/workshops/AppliedEcon/past/pdf/jensludwigyouthv…,"Opportunities for Youth Review Protocol" "Are conditional cash transfers effective in urban areas? Evidence from Mexico","Behrman, J. R., Gallardo-Garcıa, J., Parker, S. W., Todd, P. E., & Velez-Grajales, V. (2012). Are conditional cash transfers effective in urban areas? Evidence from Mexico. Education Economics, 20(3), 233-259.","Child Labor","Study Type: Causal Impact Analysis","Causal Evidence Rating: Low Causal Evidence","Child labor-Low-Favorable impacts Child labor Education and skills gains-Low-Favorable impacts Education and skills gains","Summary: The study’s objective was to examine the impact of Mexico’s conditional cash transfer program (PROGRESA/Oportunidades) on school enrollment and employment in paid activities for children ages 6 to 18 in urban areas. The study used a nonexperimental design to evaluate schooling and work outcomes from PROGRESA/Oportunidades program 1 and 2 years after implementation in urban areas. The study found that PROGRESA/Oportunidades was significantly related to reduced labor rates for boys who were 12-14 in the first and second year, and girls ages 15 to 18 in the first year. The program was also significantly related to an increase in school enrollment for boys and girls. The quality of causal evidence presented in this study is low because the authors did not ensure that the groups were similar before program participation. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to PROGRESA/Oportunidades; other factors are likely to have contributed.",PROGRESA/Oportunidades,"Child labor","Other, Low income",,"International, Urban",2012,,"Child Labor Review Protocol" "Success of joint programs between junior and senior colleges","Krudysz, M., Walser, A., & Alting, A. (2012). Success of joint programs between junior and senior colleges. American Society for Engineering Education.","Community College","Study Type: Causal Impact Analysis","Causal Evidence Rating: Low Causal Evidence","Education and skills gains-Low-Favorable impacts Education and skills gains","Summary: The study’s objective was to examine the impact of the Joint/Dual (JD) program on retention and graduation rates for community college and undergraduate engineering students who were under-represented minorities and women. JD students received dual admission to a community college as well as a senior college, and transitioned into the upper division of the baccalaureate engineering program at the senior college upon successful completion of lower-division courses and degree requirements at the community college. This study used data from junior and senior colleges within a major urban university system to compare outcomes of a treatment group of JD program participants and a comparison group of transfers into the urban university system from other, nonparticipating community colleges. This study found that first- and second-year retention rates were higher for JD program participants than for transfers from other community colleges, but did not conduct statistical tests of these differences. The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low because the authors did not include controls for relevant student characteristics in the analysis. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the JD program. Other factors are likely to have contributed.","the Joint/Dual Program","Community college education and other classroom training Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programs","Adult, Female, Other",,"Urban, United States",2012,https://www.asee.org/public/conferences/8/papers/3558/download,"Community College Review Protocol" "A comparison of two Welfare-to-Work strategies among African American women in Atlanta, Georgia. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation).","Wilson-Brewster, V.L. (2006). A comparison of two Welfare-to-Work strategies among African American women in Atlanta, Georgia. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Capella University, Minneapolis, Minnesota.","Low-Income Adults","Study Type: Causal Impact Analysis","Causal Evidence Rating: Low Causal Evidence","Earnings and wages-Low-Favorable impacts Earnings and wages Employment-Low-Favorable impacts Employment","Summary: The study’s objective was to examine the effectiveness of two welfare-to-work programs—the Labor Force Attachment (LFA) program and the Human Capital Development (HCD) program—on the employment and earnings of African American women 25, 35, and 45 years old in Atlanta. The author analyzed a subsample of participants in the National Evaluation of Welfare-to-Work Strategies (NEWWS) study. The study was a randomized controlled trial that assigned individuals within a geographic location to one of three groups: LFA, HCD, or a control group. The study found that women in the 35-year-old group who participated in LFA or HCD had higher earnings and needed less time to find a job than those in the other age cohorts. The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low because the study was a randomized controlled trial with unknown attrition and the authors did not account for preexisting differences between the groups being compared in their analysis. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to LFA or HCD programs; other factors are likely to have contributed.","Labor Force Attachment (LFA) and Human Capital Development (HCD)","Other employment and reemployment Other training and education","Female, Black or African American, Low income, Parent",,"United States, Urban",2006,,"Employment and Training Review Protocol" "An evaluation of an urban community college Single Parent and Displaced Homemaker Program (Doctoral dissertation)","Rice, L. M. (1999). An evaluation of an urban community college Single Parent and Displaced Homemaker Program (Doctoral dissertation). Old Dominion University. DOI: 10.25777/tqh7-3c76","Community College","Study Type: Causal Impact Analysis","Causal Evidence Rating: Low Causal Evidence","Education and skills gains-Low-Favorable impacts Education and skills gains","Summary: The study's objective was to examine the impact of the Single Parent and Displaced Homemaker Program on education outcomes by students at an urban community college. The study used a nonexperimental design to compare the outcomes of program participants to those on the waiting list. Using data from the community college’s Students Information System, the author conducted statistical tests to examine the differences between groups. The study found that participation in the Single Parent and Displaced Homemaker Program was significantly related to increased retention rates and number of credits taken. The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low because the author did not ensure that the groups being compared were similar before the intervention. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the Single Parent and Displaced Homemaker Program; other factors are likely to have contributed.","the Single Parent and Displaced Homemaker Program","Employment and Training Services Training and Education Capacity building programs Community college education and other classroom training Other training and education","Adult, Other barriers, Female, Parent",,"Urban, United States",1999,https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/urbanservices_education_etds/50/,"Community College Review Protocol"