title: Commentary: Learning from Variations in Fidelity of Implementation.
abstract: The articles in this special issue discuss efforts to improve academic reading outcomes for students and ways to achieve high implementation fidelity of promising strategies. At times the authors discuss if-and how-strong fidelity is associated with strong outcomes and potentially even impacts (the difference between program and control group outcomes). We want to explore this theme in two ways: (a) learning from the variation in fidelity to think about potential points of entry and levers for improvement in implementation, and (b) broadening the evaluation focus to include "service contrast" as a factor driving impacts on student outcomes. We conclude with suggestions for future research.
authors.affiliation: MDRC.
authors.forename: Rekha
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Balu
authors.affiliation: MDRC.
authors.forename: Fred
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Doolittle
mesh_terms: D018479:Early Intervention, Educational / Q000592:standards*; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D012574:Schools