Senior Principal Education Researcher and Evaluation Methods Lead
Nicole L. Arshan, PhD, focuses on the scaling and rigorous evaluation of educational interventions designed to improve teaching quality. Her impact studies provide data and integrated analysis to develop, implement, continuously improve, and scale successful programs, without sacrificing the rigor required to meet What Works Clearinghouse and ESSA evidence standards.
Arshan’s recent work includes evaluations of teacher professional development in writing, data-driven instruction, and a maker program integrating math and computational thinking. She also leads a team of SRI methodologists in an external review of a commercial education company’s internal efficacy work. Her work spans multiple contexts, including: K–16 classrooms; urban, rural, and international communities; and early-stage development through large-scale replication. Arshan also co-leads SRI’s Evaluation Methods working group.
Arshan’s work can be found in the Journal on Research in Educational Effectiveness, the American Educational Research Journal, the Journal of Educational Psychology, and in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. She also serves on the Technical Working Group for the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Northwest, where she provides guidance on quantitative methods for causal impact studies.
Arshan holds a PhD and MA from the Stanford University School of Education and a BA from The College of William and Mary.
Key projects
- Initial Efficacy Study of Data Wise
- Math and Computational Thinking Through 3D Making (MPACT)
- College, Career, and Community Writers Program Scale-up Evaluation (C3WP)
- Evaluation of the Pathway to Academic Success Expansion Grant
- Pearson Research Quality Review
Recent publications
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The Pathway to Academic Success Project Leads to Improved Student Writing
SRI study finds that the University of California, Irvine Writing Project’s Pathway to Academic Success project leads to improved students’ academic writing through professional development for secondary English language arts and advanced English language development teachers.
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Evaluation of the College, Career, and Community Writers Program: Findings from the i3 Scale-up Grant
This technical report provides a detailed description of C3WP and the findings from the evaluation of the i3 Scale-up grant.
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Research Brief: SRI Finds Positive Effects of the College, Career, and Community Writer’s Program on Student Achievement
The National Writing Project’s (NWP) College, Career, and Community Writers Program (C3WP) is designed to improve students’ argument writing through intensive teacher professional development, instructional resources, and formative assessment.
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The Pathway to Academic Success: Scaling Up a Text-Based Analytical Writing Intervention for Latinos and English Learners in Secondary School
This study reports findings from a randomized trial designed to validate and scale up a professional development program that uses a cognitive strategies approach to text-based analytical writing.
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Evaluation of National Writing Project’s College-Ready Writer’s Program 2015 SEED Grant
The National Writing Project’s College, Career, and Community Writers Program provides professional development for teachers in Grades 7–10 with the goal of improving students’ source-based argument writing.
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Emerging Leaders Program: Impacts on Students, Teachers, and Leaders in Three Sites
New Leaders partnered with SRI Education to undertake a randomized control trial of the Emerging Leaders program in three sites.