Find the best evidence-based interventions for your students

Building Assets Reducing Risks (BARR)

9th Grade

Building Assets Reducing Risks (BARR) is a comprehensive 9th grade intervention that addresses developmental, academic, and structural challenges through eight interconnected strategies. BARR combines teachers' real-time analysis of student data, student asset building, and intensive teacher collaboration to prevent course failure. The model serves all 9th grade students and teachers in cohorts of approximately 90 students with three core-subject teachers (typically math, English, and science or social studies). Teachers meet weekly during a common planning period to review each student's progress using updated weekly data. The intervention includes a 30-minute weekly I-Time curriculum focused on social-emotional learning, family engagement activities, risk review meetings for persistently struggling students, and administrator engagement. Teachers receive two days of initial training on developmental assets and the BARR model, followed by ongoing monthly professional development and weekly technical assistance calls. Implementation requires restructuring teacher and student schedules to create cohorts and common planning time.

2015

High

36 Weeks

Cost per student

$2,166.67

Arts for Learning (A4L) Lessons Project

3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade

Arts for Learning (A4L) Lessons Project is a supplemental literacy curriculum designed to improve students' reading and writing achievement through the integration of arts into the language arts curriculum for students in grades 3, 4, and 5. Students in the treatment group receive two A4L Lessons Units and one teaching artist Residency each school year. Units of instruction are delivered by a classroom teacher trained by program staff, focus on a particular art form (theater, visual arts, music, or dance), and are built around one or more central texts. Each A4L Unit is comprised of 10 to 19 Lessons, with suggested instructional time varying from 13 to 20 hours. Residencies are aligned with each A4L Unit, in which a trained teaching artist works in collaboration with the classroom teacher during five one-hour sessions. Students work together in groups and practice public presentations. Teachers attend professional learning community (PLC) sessions for training.

2015

Cost per student

N/A

CATS Fractions-Related Math Video Games

6th Grade

CATS Fractions-Related Math Video Games is a set of four video games (Wiki Jones, Save Patch, Tlaloc's Book, and Rosie's Rates) designed for sixth-grade students to improve their knowledge of fractions and pre-algebra concepts. The games focus on fractions concepts including whole units, numerator and denominator, understanding the number line, fractions computation, and slope. Students play the games independently in a predetermined sequence over ten 40-minute classroom periods, with three games played for two periods each and one game (Save Patch) played for four periods. Prior to implementation, teachers receive 3 hours of professional development on the games themselves, the associated concepts, and how to integrate the games with their curriculum.

2015

2 Weeks

Cost per student

N/A

Big Brothers Big Sisters School-Based Mentoring (SBM) program

4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade

The Big Brothers Big Sisters School-Based Mentoring (SBM) program pairs students in grades 4-9 who are struggling academically with adult or older student volunteer mentors. Mentors meet with their protégés on school grounds during the school day or immediately after school, typically for one hour per week during the academic year. Meeting locations vary and include cafeterias, libraries, and designated classrooms. About half of the mentoring pairs share their meeting space with other pairs. The program has well-defined national standards, including an expectation that mentors receive monthly support contacts from program staff. Over the course of the school year, the average protégé received 17 hours of mentoring over 5.3 months.

2015

Cost per student

N/A

enhancing Missouri's Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies (eMINTS)

7th Grade, 8th Grade

The eMINTS (enhancing Missouri's Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies) program is a professional development intervention for teams of educators, especially those serving high-need students in grades 7 and 8. The program provides teachers with more than 250 hours of professional development spanning two years, including 126 hours of formal professional development in Year 1 and additional sessions in Year 2, plus monthly classroom visits and on-site coaching (9-10 sessions totaling about 14 hours). Teachers learn to design high-quality inquiry-based lesson plans, implement inquiry-based learning strategies, build community among teachers and students, and integrate technology into classroom instruction. The program is based on four research-based components: inquiry-based learning, high-quality lesson design, community of learners, and technology integration. A certified eMINTS instructional specialist (eIS) provides formal and individualized professional development to teachers and communicates with principals and technology coordinators. Teachers also develop classroom websites and participate in within-building communities of practice.

2015

Cost per student

N/A

Florida Master Teacher Initiative (FMTI)

Preschool, Prekindergarten, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade

The Florida Master Teacher Initiative (FMTI) is a collaborative professional development effort of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the University of Florida (UF), and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation aimed at improving early learning instruction for high-need preschool through grade 3 students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. The initiative serves Title I elementary schools with prekindergarten programs through four main components: (1) a job-embedded graduate degree program with early childhood specialization (ECTLSI) offered through UF combining online instruction, face-to-face pedagogy, and professor-in-residence support over 2.5 years (39 credit hours); (2) a Teacher Fellows program where teachers engage in yearlong inquiry projects with peers, meeting formally about once a month over six sessions and presenting at an annual districtwide Learning Showcase; (3) a Principal Fellows program providing professional development meetings (4 per year) and annual statewide institutes to build leadership skills; and (4) Summer Leadership Institutes where school leadership teams analyze data and develop school action plans. Program enhancements added in later years include an Assistant Principal Professional Learning Community, a post-baccalaureate program (non-degree-bearing, four-course version of ECTLSI), and Transition to Kindergarten Professional Learning Communities. Teachers in the ECTLSI program receive training in facilitating professional learning communities and are expected to take on school-based leadership opportunities. The program requires GRE scores and 3.0 undergraduate GPA for graduate program admission, with preparation materials and test prep courses provided at no cost to candidates.

2015

Cost per student

N/A

Boston Charter High Schools

9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade

Boston Charter High Schools are public charter schools that follow the "No Excuses" pedagogy approach. This approach emphasizes discipline and comportment, traditional reading and math skills, extended instruction time, and selective teacher hiring. These schools make heavy use of Teach for America (TFA) participants and alumni and provide extensive and ongoing feedback to teachers. The schools serve high school students (grades 9-12) in Boston, with students admitted through a lottery system when schools are over-subscribed. The intervention targets urban students, with the sample being predominantly Black, mostly qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, with representation of special education students similar to the traditional Boston Public Schools population.

2014

Cost per student

N/A

Schools to Watch: School Transformation Network

6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade

Schools to Watch: School Transformation Network is a whole school reform model designed to improve educational practices, experiences, and outcomes of persistently low-performing middle-grades schools (grades 6-8) serving high-need students. The project provides multiple supports including: tools and data for assessment, goal setting, action planning, and monitoring; technical assistance from a STW coach, principal mentor, and mentor STW school; networking opportunities at state and national levels; implementing an early warning indicators system; and focused professional development to build learning communities and address needs of at-risk students. The framework uses the Forum's STW criteria and rubric focusing on academic excellence, developmental responsiveness, social equity, and organizational structures. Implementation occurs over four years with intensive coaching services (2 days/month for 9 months annually), principal mentoring (monthly contacts), visits to mentor schools (at least twice yearly), and participation in state/national STW networks.

2015

108 Weeks

Cost per student

N/A

Achievement Network

3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade

Achievement Network (ANet) is a school-level data-based instructional program for elementary and middle schools (Grades 3-8) serving high-need students. The program provides quarterly interim assessments in math and English language arts aligned to state content standards, data tools including online reports (MyANet platform) delivered within two business days, coaching of school leaders (approximately 20 visits per year for 2-3 years) to support teachers' use of assessment data, and a network of peer schools for sharing results and joint professional development. ANet coaches work with school leaders and data leadership teams to build capacity for implementing data cycles, including preparing for assessment administration, facilitating data meetings (typically 3-hour blocks after school), and supporting teachers in analyzing data and developing re-teaching plans. The program aims to embed interim assessment data use into educators' everyday routines to identify and close gaps in student achievement.

2016

72 Weeks

Cost per student

N/A

STEM Learning Opportunities Providing Equity (SLOPE)

7th Grade, 8th Grade

STEM Learning Opportunities Providing Equity (SLOPE) is an intervention designed to increase success in grade 8 Algebra I for all students, especially those with a history of low performance in mathematics. The intervention includes three project-based, STEM-oriented drop-in instructional units (Puzzle Cube, Air Traffic Control, and Catapult Game) integrated into the district-selected Algebra I curriculum, taking approximately 40 class periods total. An optional four-week summer program (Summer C.A.M.P.) is offered before grade 8 for students who had not reached proficient status on the grade 7 state mathematics test, consisting of three project-based Pre-Algebra units delivered half-day Monday-Friday. The intervention also includes college awareness curriculum activities (two 15-minute activities per Algebra I unit). Treatment teachers receive strategic professional development through four half-day online sessions and one full-day training, plus weekly online coaching and collaborative meetings (1-3 hours per week) to strengthen content understanding and implementation consistency.

2015

8 Weeks

Cost per student

N/A

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