Trying to Raise (Low) Math Achievement and to Promote (Rigorous) Policy Evaluation in Italy: Evidence From a Large-Scale Randomized Trial.
BACKGROUND
Italy is a country showing low math achievement, especially in the Southern regions. Moreover, national student assessments are recent and rigorous policy evaluation is lacking. This study presents the results of one of the first randomized controlled trials implemented in Italian schools in order to measure the effects of a professional development (PD) program for teachers on student math achievement. The program was already at scale when it was being evaluated.


OBJECTIVE
Assessing the effects of a PD program for math teachers on their students' achievement and making suggestions for future policy evaluations.


METHODS
A large-scale clustered randomized control trial has been conducted. It involves 175 lower secondary schools (sixth - eighth grade) in four among the Italian lowest performing regions. Alongside national standard math assessments, the project collected a wide amount of information.


METHODS
Math in lower secondary schools.


METHODS
Math achievement as measured by standardized tests provided by the National Education Assessment Institute (Istituto Nazionale per la Valutazione del Sistema di Istruzione e Formazione); teacher and student practices and attitudes collected through questionnaires.


RESULTS
Findings suggest that the program had no significant impact on math scores during the first year (when the program was held). Nonetheless some heterogeneity was detected, as the treatment does seem "to work" with middle-aged teachers. Moreover, effects on teaching practice and student attitudes appear.


CONCLUSIONS
Some effects attributable to the intervention have been detected. Moreover, this project shows that a rigorous approach to evaluation is feasible also in a context lacking attention towards evidence-based policies, such the Italian school system.
1 Università di Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
Gianluca
G
Argentin
2 Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze, Rome, Italy.
Aline
A
Pennisi
3 INVALSI, Frascati, Italy and European Commission, Bruxelles, Belgium.
Daniele
D
Vidoni
4 Università degli Studi di Trento-INVALSI, Trento, Italy.
Giovanni
G
Abbiati
5 Università La Sapienza, Rome and INVALSI, Frascati, Italy.
Andrea
A
Caputo
math achievement; randomized experiment; teacher professional development