Matched studies are a type of research that aims to understand impact by comparing individuals who receive an approach with individuals who do not.
In a matched study, participants are not randomised - instead, an intervention group and a control group are selected and compared based on having similar characteristics.
For example, a study that looks at a particular reading intervention would put participants into two groups: those who had the intervention and those who didn’t. The most famous examples of matched studies come from medicine, in which studies of twins have become a popular way of seeing the impact of different approaches on participants who are as similar as possible.
In education, twin studies are not common; participants are instead matched together based on variables such as the children’s age, school and teacher. Researchers then analyse the resulting difference between the two groups.
Matched studies are considered quasi-experiments because they use what is known as quasi-experimental design (QED) rather than randomisation.
Where can I see this in action?
The EEF is currently funding a matched study conducted by UCL Institute of Education on student grouping.Schools that currently practise mixed attainment grouping in Years 7 and 8 will be recruited to the study. These schools will then be matched with schools that practise setting by attainment to provide a comparison group of schools. Differences in outcomes for students across these two schools will be looked at, including attainment differences and pupil self-confidence. In total, 120 schools will be recruited to the study. Results are expected in 2025.
While twin studies are unusual in education, they aren’t totally unheard of. In September 2021, research was published by Elsje van Bergen, an associate professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, who looked at 3,690 sets of 12-year-old Finnish twins, and found that both differences in literacy skill and literacy enjoyment were influenced by genetics: it accounts for 70 per cent of skill, and 35 per cent of enjoyment.
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) is an independent charity dedicated to breaking the link between family income and educational achievement.
To achieve this, it summarises the best available evidence for teachers; its Teaching and Learning Toolkit, for example, is used by 70 per cent of secondary schools.
The charity also generates new evidence of “what works” to improve teaching and learning, by funding independent evaluations of high-potential projects, and supports teachers and senior leaders to use the evidence to achieve the maximum possible benefit for young people.
