Griffin Applied Economics Incubator

Visitors’ Views on the Science of Scaling

Scott McConnell
Professor, Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota

What is your field of research?

I’m interested in language and early literacy development of preschool children. Our research
focuses on naturally occurring features of caregiving environments that promote development in
these areas, assessment of children’s progress toward long-term and important milestones in
preschool and beyond, and interventions that promote this development in ways that increase
educational equity.

Can you provide an illustrative example of the scale-up effect from your field?
Implementation of evidence-based assessment procedures for tiered interventions in early childhood
education. Research has demonstrated the utility of these practices, some states have required their
implementation, but both frequency of use and overall impact in applied settings remains quite
small.

In that example, why do you think the scaled program failed to deliver the impact found in
the experimental setting?
Assessment and instructional planning based on its results are both relatively new practices in
education generally, and in early childhood particularly. As a result, relatively few teachers have
background skills nor positive histories of success in using these tools – and infrastructure support
for their use continues to evolve.

In what ways does your research address the scale-up effect or advance the science of
scaling?
In addition to “traditional” efforts like scholarly and professional dissemination, advocacy to
programs and state agencies, and other efforts, we are now devoting more effort to a) building tools
that are easy to use (i.e., low cost), and b) building tech-based infrastructure that assists teachers in
collecting, scoring, and using assessment information.

How can researchers incorporate the science of scaling to design experiments differently?

First, researchers can systematically represent a range of “practice-based” features in experimental

trials, engineering procedures so that effects remain somewhat constant as researcher-based
supports diminish. Second, researcher can reduce costs to implementation by making procedures
more acceptable and/or easier to use.
What can philanthropists do to fund evidence-based programs and promote the science of
scaling?

Funders should have a template for “research to practice” engineering and evaluation, and be willing
to fund at each stage of this template.

How can policymakers use the science of scaling to replicate and scale the most promising
EBPs?

I think the NBER paper lays out strong recommendations for this, including (perhaps most
importantly) requiring evidence of replicated effects of sufficient magnitude in situations like those
expected in their initiative.

How can practitioners use the science of scaling to develop and implement EBPs with fidelity?

Require scientists to provide all needed resources – information, measures, training, ongoing
technical assistance – needed to implement an appropriate, selected intervention, and require policy
makers and other funders to provide resources needed to establish these needed supports.