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In the education system, both large scale policies and smaller scale practices are frequently being suggested to e.g. improve learning outcomes or reduce social, ethnic or gender inequalities in educational attainment. The evaluation of such interventions will be addressed broadly from small scale changes in learning practices and school management to large scale reforms and policies that are often subject to international comparisons. This course will provide an integrated approach towards the evaluation of educational practices and policies and address educational measurement and assessment as well as the quantitative impact evaluation of educational interventions. The quantitative measurement of concepts that are relevant to educational research – such as e.g. educational performance, learning progress or wellbeing – are often latent concepts that require specific measurement models. The basic idea behind such models as well as the practical implementation of measurement in (international) large scale assessment will be discussed.

In the impact evaluation part, the course will provide an understanding for design and practical implication of impact evaluations in the context of the education system. Topics include evaluation to inform program conceptualization and design, causality, natural and field experiments, observational designs for impact evaluation, and the social and political context of program evaluation.