Assessing the Quality of Education Evaluations

The Assessment of Study Quality (ASQ) tool was initially developed as part of the quality review process commissioned by the Center for Education in 2017 and updated in 2023. It is designed to provide: a common framework on the quality of research and evaluation studies, codifying best practices in designing, implementing, and reporting on studies.

It is based on internationally recognized best practices in research and evaluation, USAID policies, and standards in the research and evaluation practice in the US. The tool largely follows principles of quality outlined in the Assessing the Strength of Evidence in the Education Sector note produced by the Building Evidence for Education (BE2) donor working group and can be applied to any primary social science research, regardless of type, across many sectors.

This tool is mainly intended for social science researchers and evaluators to provide guidance and give insight into the elements of research that are important to quality. Commissioners of social science research and evaluations may also use the tool to guide their expectations of research and evaluation, and users of social science research and evaluation may use it to support their assessment of the quality of studies they reference.

The tool includes a background and purpose section, a brief how-to section, a use case of application to systems-thinking approaches, a one-page checklist, and an extensive list of references with item descriptions and sources.

Please contact Elena Walls at [email protected] with any questions regarding the tool and its application.