Advertise on podcast: Evidence First

Leigh Parise talks with Wendy Tippett of the Palm Beach County (FL) Community Services Department and Meghann Cotter of Micah Ecumenical Ministries, Fredericksburg, VA, to learn how they use shared housing as part of a strategy to end homelessness in expensive housing markets.

Researchers and practitioners are shaping the future of education and social policy by putting data and research evidence at the center of their decisions.    In this episode, Leigh Parise talks with John B. King, Jr., chancellor of the State University of New York (SUNY), which is the largest comprehensive system of public higher education in the country. King previously served as the secretary of the U.S. Department of Education under President Obama, led the nonprofit organization EdTrust, and was education commissioner for the state of New York. King also serves on MDRC's Board of Directors.  King and Parise discuss the role of evidence in ensuring student success and the top challenges facing higher education today.

As the global economy has grown increasingly competitive, interest in career and technical education (CTE) has experienced a resurgence among policymakers and educators as a way to ensure that more students leave school prepared for well-paying jobs.    Innovative new programs at both the secondary and postsecondary education levels seek to give students technical training for specific careers, durable skills training to prepare them for the workforce, and work-based learning opportunities where they can get hands-on experience and develop connections to employers and the workforce.   In this episode, Leigh Parise talks with Kate Kreamer, Executive Director of Advance CTE, the national nonprofit that represents state CTE directors and state leaders of career and technical education. They discuss how CTE has evolved, how it can meet the needs of learners in a changing labor market, and where more research is needed.

Using data and research evidence can help nonprofit and community-based organizations develop new programs, support existing ones, and advocate for more effective government investments.   In this episode, Leigh Parise talks with Milton J. Little Jr., President and CEO of the United Way of Greater Atlanta – one of the nation's largest United Ways, serving 13 counties in the Atlanta metro area. Little is a member of MDRC's Board of Directors, where he serves as treasurer.   Little and Parise discuss the importance of independent research and how using data and evidence can help community-based organizations improve the lives of the people they serve.

In Memphis, one in three people live near or below the poverty line. Memphis Works for Everyone (MemWorks), a partnership between MDRC and Slingshot Memphis, seeks to strengthen pathways to living-wage jobs for Memphis workers. MemWorks is using research and data to determine what local programs, policies, and interventions will help more workers improve their economic mobility. In this episode, Leigh Parise speaks with Jared Barnett, president and CEO of Slingshot Memphis, to discuss this partnership and what they're learning.

In this year-in-review episode, Leigh Parise revisits conversations from 2025 about the power of evidence and collaboration to drive change: how data can inform decisions, how partnerships can break down barriers, and how innovative strategies can open doors for learners and workers alike.

Graduation rates at community colleges have remained low, especially for students with low incomes. One effort to help students graduate and succeed in the workforce is MDRC's Scaling Up College Completion Efforts for Student Success (SUCCESS), a comprehensive student support program supported by 15 years of MDRC's postsecondary research. Through its Expanding SUCCESS Initiative, MDRC is partnering with states and districts to expand the SUCCESS program to new locations and campuses.   In this episode, Leigh Parise talks with Jonathan Lowe, program director of Coaching for Success at Dallas College, and DeShawn Preston, a research associate at MDRC, about implementing a model of comprehensive student supports at Dallas College, as part of the Expanding SUCCESS initiative.

Transferring credits from a community college to a four-year institution remains a crucial strategy to boosting bachelor's degree attainment and improving outcomes for graduates. But transfer students often face significant challenges to having their credits accepted and, more importantly, applied to degree requirements at four-year institutions. Faculty members in teaching, research, and administrative positions play a pivotal role in decisions about whether and how credits transfer. Yet little is known about how they approach these decisions or what factors influence their judgment. MDRC is working with three University of Texas System colleges to better understand how faculty members make these decisions within a large and complex transfer landscape. In this episode, Leigh Parise talks with Marjorie Dorimé-Williams, senior research associate at MDRC, leading the study.

In a competitive labor market, students graduating from high school need skills that can translate into meaningful careers. PREP KC is a leading K-12 education intermediary in the Kansas City region, bringing educators and industry professionals together to give students real-world learning opportunities and prepare them for in-demand careers.   Responding to increasing demand for data literacy across all industries, PREP-KC launched its Data in Action course in 2023 to give eighth-grade students early exposure to data analytics. It aims to prepare students for high-demand careers and develop their interest in math and science fields.    MDRC will conduct an evaluation to test whether this course can help boost academic achievement and whether more students will opt for a high school pathway in science, technology, engineering, or math.    In this episode, Leigh Parise talks with Doug Elmer, vice president of PREP KC and Zeest Haider, research associate at MDRC, to learn more about the program and the evaluation.

Children's early math skills are a strong predictor of later outcomes, like high school and college graduation rates, underscoring the long-term benefits of focusing on early math education.   States across the country have increasingly focused on early literacy, enacting laws that require screening for reading difficulties, and aligning classroom instruction with the science of reading. This momentum is now expanding to math education, although more gradually.   In this episode, Leigh Parise talks with Shira Mattera, a senior research associate at MDRC, who is leading multiple studies looking at early math instruction and skills. They discuss evidence-based strategies that state education leaders can implement to strengthen early mathematics instruction and learning.

Since MDRC's founding more than 50 years ago, evidence-building and data-driven technical assistance (TA) have been a crucial part of its work. MDRC is now launching a comprehensive and innovative approach to TA, to ensure that effective service strategies reach more people and improve lives. MDRC's approach to technical assistance leverages the organization's years of on-the-ground experience to help nonprofits and government agencies build new evidence, use existing evidence, and harness data to advance their goals. The approach centers on technical assistance informed by data and evidence, underscored by empathy, curiosity, humility, and respect for the views of participants and program staff. In this episode, Leigh Parise talks with John Martinez, MDRC's first Vice President for Evidence to Practice. The two dive into the history of technical assistance at MDRC (fun fact: MDRC's TA predates its randomized controlled trials!) and then explore the new Evidence to Practice initiative and what sets MDRC's TA apart.

Sectoral training programs have emerged as a promising driver of economic mobility for people with low incomes. These programs prepare people for quality jobs in specific industries where there's strong employer demand and an opportunity for career advancement. Studies find that sectoral programs can meaningfully improve participants' earnings, yet not all programs have the support they need to apply the best research evidence to improve their services.   In this episode, Leigh Parise talks with three guests: Jessa Valentine, Deputy Director of Learning and Impact at Ascendium Education Group, a collaborator and funder of MDRC's work;  Frieda Molina, Director of the MDRC's Economic Mobility, Housing, and Communities Policy Area; and Kelsey Schaberg, MDRC Research Associate. They discuss exciting initiatives like the Economic Mobility Lab at MDRC and the Sector Training Evidence-Building Project — efforts that aim to understand the most important components of sectoral programs and address some of the challenges these programs face.

Postsecondary education is a crucial factor in achieving economic mobility. However, graduation rates at community colleges remain low, particularly for students from low-income families.   One effort to help students graduate and succeed in the workforce is MDRC's Scaling Up College Completion Efforts for Student Success (SUCCESS), a comprehensive student support program supported by 15 years of MDRC's postsecondary research. Through its Expanding SUCCESS Initiative, MDRC is partnering with states and districts to scale the SUCCESS program to new locations and campuses   In this episode, Leigh Parise talks with Elena Serna-Wallender, Senior Evidence to Practice Associate at MDRC, and Emily Dow, Assistant Secretary of Academic Affairs at the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC). They discuss how MHEC and MDRC are working together to support institutions implementing these supports in Maryland.

Sector-based training programs prepare people for jobs in specific industries where there is strong local demand and an opportunity for career advancement. Several models for technology jobs have been found to be effective in improving long-term earnings for workers with low incomes. But for many people, the programs are too expensive and too far from home.  With support from the $100-million Google Career Certificates Fund, Social Finance is leading an initiative that will allow training providers to better support 20,000 learners in getting industry-recognized certificates that can lead to better wages.   The providers combine Google Career Certificates, which offer online instruction in sector-specific skills, and outcomes-based loans, in which learners are only required to pay for training and related costs if they find jobs above a certain income threshold. Learners also receive supportive services, such as living stipends or childcare assistance, and career-related guidance.  MDRC's study will examine how training providers make use of online training courses and financing, how learners experience the programs, and how learners fare in the labor market.  In this episode, Leigh Parise talks with Edith Yang, project director and Senior Research Associate at MDRC, about the initiative and the research questions MDRC is hoping to answer.

Every year, courts across the United States impose millions of dollars in fines, fees, and restitution charges on people for traffic violations, misdemeanors, and felonies. In theory, these assessments are intended to punish and deter unlawful behavior, compensate victims for financial losses, and raise money for the justice system. However, they don't often accomplish those goals; instead, research suggests they erode community trust in law enforcement and saddle community members with debt many will never be able to pay.   The Center for Criminal Justice Research at MDRC partnered with the Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, Alabama's Tenth Judicial Circuit Court, and the Center for Court Innovation on the Jefferson County Equitable Fines and Fees Project (Project JEFF) to better understand the impact that court debts have on citizens of Jefferson County, Alabama.   In this episode, Leigh Parise is joined by Sarah Picard, the Director of the Center for Criminal Justice Research at MDRC, and Leah Nelson, the then-Research Director at Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, to discuss some of the early findings of Project JEFF. The pair introduce the history of fines and fees, share the perspectives of those who are assessed court fines or fees; and describe the disproportionate impact of court debt across racial groups in Jefferson County.