ERCT: A Simple Standard for Making Sense of Educational RCTs
Twelve questions for reading educational randomised controlled trials more critically.
Evidence-based education
A model benchmark answers one question. A classroom trial answers another.
Educational randomised controlled trials
ERCT is our practical framework for reading educational randomised controlled trials: twelve questions about design, outcomes and reproducibility.
Four of the questions we ask
- What is the comparison?Understand what the control group received.
- What was measured?Look for meaningful, independent outcomes.
- How long did it last?Distinguish a brief effect from lasting learning.
- Does the result hold up?Look for replication and independent evidence.
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