The Research Alliance for New York City Schools

Projects

skyline

The Research Alliance conducts studies on topics that matter to NYC’s public schools. While these projects are diverse in their methods, scope, and focus, they all reflect our mission and core principles, including:

  • High standards of scientific rigor,
  • Relevance to education policy and practice,
  • A commitment to nonpartisanship, and
  • A commitment to advancing equity and racial justice in education.

Learn more by exploring Research Alliance projects sorted by student population or topic, or by scrolling through the list below.

What's New at the Research Alliance

Glacial Rivers

Assessing the Quality and Reach of Student Pathways to Economic Security

The Research Alliance and MDRC are conducting an in-depth, exploratory study of NYC’s Pathways initiatives, including the FutureReadyNYC and Career Readiness and Modern Youth Apprenticeship (CRMYA) programs. The study is examining how the programs are being implemented, how student and school characteristics are related to student participation and access to career-connected learning opportunities, and how participation is associated with student outcomes.
Blurred High School Hallway with Students

Children First Retrospective

From 2002 to 2013, the Children First reforms represented one of the most ambitious efforts to transform a major urban school system anywhere in the United States. This study draws on in-depth interviews, a synthesis of existing research, and longitudinal analysis of system-wide outcomes data to understand the long-term legacy and impact of the Children First era.

All Projects

Glacial Rivers

Assessing the Quality and Reach of Student Pathways to Economic Security

The Research Alliance and MDRC are conducting an in-depth, exploratory study of NYC’s Pathways initiatives, including the FutureReadyNYC and Career Readiness and Modern Youth Apprenticeship (CRMYA) programs. The study is examining how the programs are being implemented, how student and school characteristics are related to student participation and access to career-connected learning opportunities, and how participation is associated with student outcomes.
A male and female student look at a computer screen.

Beyond Access and Participation in CS for All

This study will develop and test measures of culturally responsive-sustaining education (CR-SE) in computer science—providing vital tools and evidence to inform the growing CS education field.
Blurred High School Hallway with Students

Children First Retrospective

From 2002 to 2013, the Children First reforms represented one of the most ambitious efforts to transform a major urban school system anywhere in the United States. This study draws on in-depth interviews, a synthesis of existing research, and longitudinal analysis of system-wide outcomes data to understand the long-term legacy and impact of the Children First era.
student laughing with teacher in a laboratory

Collaboration with the Student Success Network

The Student Success Network (SSN) is a group of about 80 youth development and education organizations (including schools) that have coalesced around the goal of measuring and improving students’ social emotional learning skills.
Students completing a class activity in workbooks.

Computational Thinking Readiness for All

This project will field-test a self-assessment tool designed to help elementary schools create CT integration plans and support the provision of equitable access to CT education for students from traditionally underrepresented groups.
teacher leading a science experience

Data In Use

Recent years have seen a tremendous growth in data-driven initiatives aimed at improving schools, including instructional techniques and accountability systems that rely heavily on using and interpreting data.
Raised hands of various skin tones and sweater colors. Some hands are adorned with jewelry and some hands are not.

Developing Equity Indicators for NYC Schools

The Research Alliance is developing a set of education equity indicators aimed at informing policy decisions and enhancing public understanding of educational inequality in New York City.
A row of lockers in a high school hallway

Disrupting School Pushout

Exploring how systemic racism and disinvestment drive the phenomenon of "school pushout" in NYC, this study examines the impact of neighborhood-, school-, and individual-level factors on students' high school completion.
Students in Library

Evaluating the Expanded Success Initiative

The Expanded Success Initiative (ESI) was designed to improve the educational experiences and outcomes of Black and Latino young men in high schools across the City. To gain an understanding of whether, and how, ESI benefitted students, the Research Alliance undertook a five-year mixed-methods longitudinal evaluation of the initiative.
Students in Front of Bookshelves

Evaluating P-TECH

MDRC is conducting a study of the NYC P-TECH Grades 9-14 school model. The Research Alliance is supporting MDRC’s work by advising on research design and analyses, helping identify appropriate samples of students for the study, and constructing longitudinal data files needed to evaluate P-TECH’s implementation and impact.
students walking out from class

Evaluating the Safe Public Spaces Program

Research has demonstrated important connections between students’ sense of safety—both physical and emotional—inside their schools and outcomes such as academic effort and achievement.
male teacher instructing young student

Evaluation of the InnovateNYC Ecosystem

The New York City Department of Education’s InnovateNYC Ecosystem aims to transform the DOE’s procurement process for education technology tools, thereby raising the quantity and quality of technology in NYC classrooms.
children coding on a keyboard

Evaluating the ExpandEd Schools STEM Options Program

The study is aimed at better understanding how many and which students are interested in STEM apprenticeships, documenting students’ experiences in the programs, and assessing how the programs shape students’ interest and engagement in STEM subjects and fields.
Diverse Group of Professionals

Examining Teacher Leader Diversity in NYC Schools

This study explores the role of teacher leaders of color in fostering inclusive and supportive learning environments, including effects on school hiring and retention practices, as well as the broader school climate.
teachers talking

High School Choice Decision Supports

New York City is home to the largest high school choice program in the country. Since 2004, all City 8th graders have been required to rank their 12 preferred high school programs (in 2014-2015, there are over 700 programs offered in 400 schools).
high school choice project

High School Choice in New York City

In recent years, policymakers across the country have instituted school choice policies, which aim to increase equity and narrow achievement gaps by offering students access to a wide range of schools, including schools outside their home neighborhood.
lockers

High School Closures in NYC

In New York City, between the 2001-2002 and 2008-2009 school years, the Department of Education identified and scheduled 29 large low-performing high schools for closure. This was part of a larger reform effort that included opening smaller high schools throughout the City and implementing a new system of universal high school choice.
young children using the computer

Maker Partnership

In collaboration with Schools That Can and MakerState, the Research Alliance is evaluating the implementation of Maker Partnership curriculum and professional development.
middle school teacher turnover

Middle School Teacher Turnover

Some amount of teacher turnover is generally thought to be constructive, as it brings new ideas, energy, and skills to schools. However, research suggests that too much turnover may have serious instructional, financial, and organizational costs.
teacher mentoring high school student

The NYC Partnership for College Readiness and Success

This partnership between CUNY, the NYC DOE, and the Research Alliance is bringing together the key stakeholders who focus on secondary and post-secondary education in New York City, enabling researchers to link together CUNY and DOE student data.
NYC Partnership for Math Equity

NYC Partnership for Math Equity

This study investigates how supplemental digital math lessons can enhance students’ mathematical engagement, collaboration, and achievement, with a focus on Black, Latinx, and low-income middle-grade students.
Cover art for Power On! graphic novel featuring several teenagers with their fists held in the air.

Power On! In NYC Classrooms

As an extension of the Research Alliance’s ongoing evaluation of the CS4All initiative, we are collaborating with UCLA’s CS Equity Project to understand the use and outcomes of Power On! in NYC public schools.
kids dancing and laughing

Pre-K for All in New York City

This research-practice partnership is supporting the roll out of Pre-K For All in NYC and providing evidence to help improve the quality of pre-k programming.
stock image of teachers reading to a student

Scaling Up ParentCorps in NYC

The Research Alliance for NYC Schools provides support for ParentCorps by advising on the research design and analyses, linking project-specific data with administrative records, and constructing longitudinal data files to assess implementation and impacts.
paint

Special Education in NYC: A Landscape Analysis

This project filled important gaps in our knowledge about how and where students with disabilities are being served in New York City. The study illuminated inequities, as well as areas of progress, and laid a valuable foundation for future research.
students discussing paperwork with a teacher

Student Transitions Through the Middle Grades

Educators have long asserted that the middle grades are a time of both great importance and vulnerability. Anecdotal and empirical evidence suggest that students encounter new social and emotional challenges, increased academic demands, and major developmental transitions during these years.
The Urban Assembly logo

Study of the Urban Assembly Network

The Research Alliance for New York City Schools is collaborating with MDRC on a rigorous study of the effects of the Urban Assembly school support network on students’ academic and social emotional outcomes.
Teacher pointing at white board with multipilication tables and students in desks, two are raising their hands

Study of Saga’s Online Math Tutoring

Can online tutoring boost math achievement? As schools work to recover from pandemic-related learning disruptions, there is keen interest in the potential of high-dosage tutoring to accelerate students' progress in core subjects. In partnership with MDRC, the Research Alliance is studying the implementation and impact of Saga Education's live-online tutoring platform in NYC high schools.
A woman wearing a brown sweater holds a notepad and pen. She sits across from another woman wearing an orange sweater and holding a coffee cup.

The Center for the Success of English Learners

The Research Alliance for New York City Schools is supporting Dr. Michael Kieffer's work leading CSEL’s policy strand. This research explores how policies, structures, and system-level practices may constrain or enhance secondary English Learners' access to the general curriculum.
students and teachers laughing

Turnaround Middle Schools

What can be learned from low-performing middle schools that have beaten the odds and substantially improved student performance?