Review methods
For its quantitative analyses of overall achievement, CSRQ identified 22 CSR programmes serving at least 20 schools in at least 3 US states. They then did an extensive search for all types of studies that evaluated these programmes. The evaluations’ validity was rated as inconclusive, suggestive, or conclusive. Conclusive studies met the following criteria:
- Schools using each programme had to be compared to equivalent control groups
- Schools had to have pre-test scores or other baseline measures
- The outcome measures had to be reliable and valid
- The study duration had to be at least one year
To be considered “suggestive,” a study had to meet the same standards, but could have up to two “non-critical threats to validity.”
CSRQ also looked at evidence in three additional areas:
- Additional pupil outcomes
- The model's design based on research
- Services and supports provided to schools
Links
- The full report, from which this summary was taken, was produced by the Comprehensive School Reform Quality Center (CSRQ), American Institutes for Research.
- For another review of research on comprehensive school reform for primary and secondary, see Borman et al. (2003).
- Review of CSR programmes for secondary schools.
CSR programmes - primary
Educator's summary
As PDF document 
As web pages
Programmes with limited evidence
Review methods
Full report (355 pages)
As PDF document
