Alyssa Ratledge
Alyssa Ratledge
Research Associate
Postsecondary Education

Ratledge joined MDRC in 2012. As a research associate in the Postsecondary Education policy area, she works closely with community colleges, technical colleges, and open- and broad-access institutions to implement and evaluate programs aimed at improving graduation rates. Her primary areas of focus are student support programs, developmental (remedial) education, and financial aid innovations. She also leads MDRC’s rural higher education work. Most recently, she fundraised for and launched the randomized controlled trial of Montana 10, a multifaceted student support program serving seven Montana public institutions including small rural colleges. She has also served as the project manager for both the Detroit Promise Path Evaluation and the ASAP Demonstration in Ohio.

Ratledge has written MDRC reports for several studies and regularly presents at academic, practitioner, and policy conferences. She has published in The Hill, Higher Ed Dive, Spotlight on Poverty, and Community College Daily. She has also published peer-reviewed articles in the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness and the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. Ratledge holds a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Brown University.

Products

Issue Focus

Evaluating the Google Career Certificates Fund

Issue Focus

A Synthesis of the Research for Employers and Local Governments

Toolkit

Putting Evidence to Work for Student Support

Report

How an Additional Quantitative Reasoning Course Could Affect Student Access and Success

Brief

Participating in a College Support Program During the Pandemic and Beyond

Brief

Early Lessons from SUCCESS

Brief

Here’s What Institutions and State Agencies Need to Know

Report

Three Years of the Detroit Promise Path Program for Community College Students

Issue Focus

A Statewide Education Collaboration That Centers on Rural Communities

Issue Focus

College Access Strategies in Rural Communities of Color

Issue Focus

What States and Colleges Need to Know