IES Training Institute on Cluster Randomized Trials in Education
Recently, the Institute of Education Sciences awarded the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University a three-year grant for a summer institute on randomized field trials, starting in July 2008. The institute will focus on the design, implementation, and analysis of cluster randomized experiments.
CeaseFire Evaluation Shows Declines in Violence
Incidents of gun violence in Chicago have served to highlight the work of the anti-violence program CeaseFire. IPR Faculty Fellow Wesley G. Skogan has just released a report detailing how the program is faring, showing declines in shootings and violence of between 16% and 40% over time in eight Chicago neighborhoods.
Click here for Executive Summary
Click here for report
Click here for Skogan's interview on WBEZ's Eight-Forty-Eight
Click here to read the Chicago Sun-Times article
Hedges Elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences
A national leader in the fields of educational statistics and evaluation, Larry V. Hedges is the latest IPR faculty fellow to be elected to the prestigious body of scholars. Hedges joined IPR and Northwestern in fall 2005 as Board of Trustees Professor of Statistics and Social Policy. Five IPR faculty are currently fellows in the Academy.
IPR Faculty Fellow Greg Duncan Gives PAA Presidential Address
IPR Faculty Fellow Greg Duncan delivered the presidential address, "When to Promote—and When to Avoid—a Population Perspective," at the Population Association of America's (PAA) annual meeting on April 18 in New Orleans.
Fear of Appearing Prejudiced May Undermine Interracial Contact
IPR Faculty Fellow Jennifer Richeson and postdoctoral fellow Sophie Trawalter have published a study showing that white students' anxiety over appearing racist might cause them to avoid interaction with blacks in the first place. The study appeared in Psychological Science.
Click here to read the article in Psychological Science
Click here to read the Chicago Tribune article
Carbon Tax: Ready, Set, Do Not Collect
In an editorial for the NYTimes.com, IPR Faculty Fellow and sociologist Monica Prasad argues that Denmark's experience with imposing -- but not collecting -- a carbon tax provides a compelling example for the next U.S. administration.
Smaller Classes Don't Close Learning Gap
A study by IPR Faculty Associate Spyros Konstantopoulos found that decreasing class size may increase achievement on average for all types of students, but it does not appear to reduce the gap between high and low achievers in the same class.
Click here to read the March 10th Washington Post article
Evaluating the Candidates' Healthcare Plans
At a recent IPR policy briefing, three healthcare scholars weighed in on the Republican and Democratic presidential plans for healthcare.
Click here for video and PowerPoint presentations
Race, Ethnicity, Parent Education Predict Facebook Use
A recently published study by IPR Faculty Associate Eszter Hargittai shows that race, ethnicity, and the education level of one's parents can predict who uses social networking sites, challenging assumptions about the democratic nature of online interaction.
Early Reading and "Rithmitic"—Not Behavior—Best Predict School Success
IPR Faculty Fellow Greg Duncan and his co-authors conducted a meta-analysis of six large-scale studies, involving 36,000 preschoolers. They find that children who master math and reading concepts early demonstrate higher academic achievement later in life. Surprisingly perhaps, behavior problems and lack of social skills do not affect the children's later success in school.
Click here to read theTime Magazine article
Click here to download pdf file
Recent Books by IPR Faculty
Click
here for a complete listing of IPR faculty books.
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