The political and institutional origins of a randomized controlled trial on elementary school class size: Tennessee's project STAR

The randomized experiment known as Project STAR exemplifies the type of hig h quality research needed to systematically evaluate programs and reforms i n education. As a result, it is instructive to examine the origins of Tenne ssee's STAR and derive lessons for educational research. This article explo res the initiation of Project STAR and asks what was unique about Tennessee in the mid-1980s that fostered the development of this exemplary education al experiment. After investigating the story of STAR by analyzing the legal proceedings and conducting interviews with key actors, we found that this groundbreaking project resulted from the serendipitous connection between t he research world and the political world.