Student Mentoring and Youth Development programs
SA Department of Education and Children’s Services, 2012—in progress
The Student Mentoring and Youth Development programs form part of the South Australian Government’s Smarter Schools National Partnership with the Commonwealth. It aims to provide mentoring to students at risk of disengagement from schooling. The evaluation combines a mixed methods and quasi-experimental approach to understanding how mentoring is or is not working and the outcomes it is generating.

Innovative Community Action Networks (ICAN)
Department of Education and Children’s Services, 2012—in progress
ICAN is a strategy funded by the Commonwealth Smarter Schools Communities Making a Difference National Partnership and by the South Australian State Government. ARTD is using a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods to provide multiple lines of evidence for the evaluation. The higher order outcomes of the program—engagement, literacy and numeracy, and retention—will be measured using program monitoring data. The qualitative data will inform evaluation questions about context and implementation. 

Alcohol education resource for teachers
NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2012—in progress
Drug Prevention Programs has developed a new alcohol education website for teachers of students in Stages 4 and 5, and is piloting it in 17 schools across NSW. The evaluation will provide information about how the website could be improved and test whether the website does what it is designed to do i.e. enhance teachers’ provision of alcohol education and subsequently increase students’ knowledge about alcohol. Research methods include focus groups with teachers and students, interviews with principals and pre and post student knowledge surveys. 

School counselling services
NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2012
ARTD undertook a stakeholder consultation exercise as part of the Department of Education and Communities’ (DEC) review of school counselling services. This intensive consultation was undertaken over three months, and involved an online survey of over 1,000 school counsellors and district guidance officers, nearly 2,000 school principals and 2,000 students across NSW. Phone interviews with 52 school principals, 36 school counsellors, 10 school district guidance officers, 10 Student Support Officers and 50 parents were also undertaken, as well as focus groups with students and other stakeholders. 

School Based Management Pilot
NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2011
ARTD undertook an independent review of the School Based Management Pilot (also known as the 47 Schools Pilot) between August and October 2011. The review focused on the experiences of the pilot principals, collecting primary data through a survey and interviews. Other data and information also informed the review. The findings, conclusions and recommendations were presented to key stakeholders and the media and a full and summary report were published on the Department of Education and Communities website. 

Smarter Schools National Partnership in NSW
NSW Department of Education and Training, 2010
The NSW education sector is delivering the Smarter Schools National Partnership reforms in NSW beginning in 2009—Low SES, Literacy and Numeracy and Teacher Quality. ARTD was engaged to develop a framework for evaluating the implementation and outcomes of these national partnerships over two years. ARTD was subsequently contracted to apply the evaluation framework for all three Commonwealth Government funded pilot programs.
ARTD evaluated the pilots using mixed methods drawing on educational student testing information and surveys and interviews with numerous stakeholders in the school communities involved in the pilots.  
The evaluations involved a large amount of fieldwork in remote locations and intensive work with indigenous and CALD communities and stakeholders. 
Results were used to improve the implementation of Stage 2 of the Partnership and ARTD staff were invited to share the findings of the evaluation at a national conference convened by the Commonwealth Government and attended by the Hon Julia Gillard MP.
ARTD conducted a baseline survey to give early advice about the implementation of the first stage of the full rollout of the Smarter Schools National Partnership across the three school sectors in NSW. 

Commonwealth funded literacy pilot programs in NSW schools
NSW Department of Education and Training, 2009–2011
As part of the COAG agreement to improve literacy levels among disadvantaged groups, the Commonwealth Government funded three pilot programs in NSW: the Gifted and Talented Indigenous Students Learning Community, the Building Numeracy Capacity in Western NSW and the Successful Language Learners. ARTD designed and conducted the evaluations of the three pilots over two years using a mixed-method approach that drew on student testing information and research with school communities involved in the pilots. 

Performance Based Research Fund
Tertiary Education Commission New Zealand, 2006–2008
ARTD provided ongoing specialist advice and research to the Commission on the evaluation of the Performance Based Research Fund, a new scheme for university research funding being introduced in New Zealand.