In this study of more than 500 schools, 60 districts, and all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Mathematica is conducting an implementation and impact analysis of Race To the Top and School Improvement Grants, two programs that aim to foster systematic school reform.
Lisa Dragoset
Principal Researcher
Expertise
- Design and conduct of rigorous impact evaluations
- Quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis
- Regression discontinuity
Focus Areas
- Education
- School Reform
- Nutrition
- Food Security and Hunger
- Nutrition and Food Assistance Programs
- Human Services
About Lisa
Lisa Dragoset has more than 10 years of experience collecting and analyzing large, complex data sets using a variety of statistical techniques. Her work includes leading the recruitment and collection of data from states and districts, planning and conducting impact analyses, and conducting quantitative and qualitative data analysis and modeling.
Dragoset is currently the project director for the national evaluation of Race to the Top and School Improvement Grants for the U.S. Department of Education. For this project, she led a team of 30 staff to collect and analyze student records data from states and school districts.
In past work, Dragoset led nationwide recruiting and data collection efforts to examine the effect of participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on food security, and led an analysis of how interviews affect eligibility determination for SNAP. She also evaluated Supplemental Educational Services, an after-school tutoring program, and developed evidence standards for regression discontinuity designs for the U.S. Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse.
Dragoset holds a Ph.D. in economics from Cornell University and has published in the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness.
Key Publications
Latest News
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New Mathematica Brief Examines Adoption of Practices Promoted by School Improvement GrantsA new Issue Brief and In Focus from Mathematica Policy Research's multi-year evaluation of SIG for the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, shed light on which individual SIG practices (and what combinations of practices) low-performing schools adopted.
Related Case Studies
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The What Works Clearinghouse: Improving Practice, Research, and PolicyIn 2002, the U.S. Department of Education's (ED) Institute of Education Sciences (IES) established the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) to collect, review, and report on studies of education interventions. The growing focus on evidence-based decision making increased demand for this type of information. Since...
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Providing Definitive Answers on Hunger and Food InsecurityThis study was the largest survey of food security and food spending among SNAP participants to date. The results can inform the policy discussion on program elements such as benefit size and promote evidence-based policymaking.