Impact Evaluation & RCT Design Certification

The Impact Evaluation & RCT Design Certification is a free advanced-level, 25-minute skill test from Science of Apps. It tests impact evaluation and randomised controlled trial design — theories of change and evaluation questions, the counterfactual and selection bias, randomisation designs and units, power calculations and minimum detectable effects, quasi-experimental methods such as difference-in-differences, regression discontinuity and instrumental variables, implementation, attrition and spillovers, pre-registration, analysis and reporting, research ethics and cost-effectiveness — written to J-PAL, the World Bank's Impact Evaluation in Practice, CONSORT and the Belmont Report for 2026 and 2027. Score 70% or more on its 25 questions to earn a verifiable Impact Evaluation & RCT Design certificate (SOA-IERD). Every question is based on published standards and research — including Research resources for randomized evaluations (J-PAL (Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab)), Impact Evaluation in Practice, 2nd edition (Gertler et al.) (World Bank), statsmodels documentation (statsmodels) — and each answer is explained with its source.

Science of Apps offers a free Impact Evaluation & RCT Design Certification, written for 2026 and 2027. It tests evaluation foundations, randomised designs, quasi-experimental methods, implementation, analysis and reporting and ethics, cost-effectiveness and policy use with 25 original scenario questions in all, each naming its published source; you get an instant score and a verifiable certificate with a credential ID you can add to LinkedIn.

Read the five skill areas on this page, then take the 25-minute test online — no fee, course or sign-up. You see every answer explained when you finish. Score 70% or more and you get a Impact Evaluation & RCT Design certificate straight away, on screen, as a PDF and by email, with a credential ID anyone can verify.

Yes. The questions are original scenarios written by Science of Apps, and each one is based on a public source you can read: Research resources for randomized evaluations (J-PAL (Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab)); Impact Evaluation in Practice, 2nd edition (Gertler et al.) (World Bank); statsmodels documentation (statsmodels); AEA RCT Registry (American Economic Association); The Belmont Report (US Department of Health and Human Services (OHRP)); The Hitchhiker's Guide to Testing Statistical Significance in Natural Language Processing (Dror et al., ACL 2018) (ACL Anthology). The source is shown under each question and linked in the answer review. Science of Apps doesn't copy questions from other tests.

Five skill areas with five questions each, drawn from a bank of 10 per area so a retake brings new questions: Evaluation Foundations (Theory of change, The counterfactual and Evaluation questions); Randomised Designs (Randomisation strategies, Units and stratification and Power); Quasi-Experimental Methods (Difference-in-differences, Regression discontinuity and Instrumental variables and matching); Implementation, Analysis and Reporting (Attrition and spillovers, Pre-analysis plans and Reporting standards); Ethics, Cost-Effectiveness and Policy Use (Research ethics, Cost-effectiveness and Using evidence). Every question is an original scenario written to the 2026–2027 standard, with the published source named under it.

Monitoring and evaluation specialist, Development economist or researcher, Policy analyst in government or a foundation, Programme manager at an NGO and Graduate student in economics or public policy. It suits students at leading universities, career switchers and experienced professionals who want quick, verifiable proof of Impact Evaluation & RCT Design knowledge in 2026 and 2027.

Law, IR and public-policy students at Yale, Georgetown, Sciences Po, LSE and SAIS want practice-ready skills without government or bar exams. Passing earns a founder-signed Science of Apps certificate with a credential ID and QR code that recruiters can verify.

Random assignment makes treatment and comparison groups statistically similar on average in both observed and unobserved characteristics, so differences in outcomes can be attributed to the programme rather than to selection bias.

When randomisation is impossible, unethical or too late, methods such as difference-in-differences, regression discontinuity or instrumental variables can estimate impacts, but each relies on assumptions such as parallel trends or no manipulation at a cutoff that must be argued and tested.

Yes. The test is online, in English and free everywhere — people take it from India, the US, the UK, Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Your certificate is dated with your own local date and can be verified from anywhere at scienceofapps.com/certification/verify/.

25 questions — 5 from each of 5 skill areas — with a 25-minute limit. You need 70% (18 of 25) to pass and 90% for distinction.

We rate it Advanced: assumes years in the role or deep specialist knowledge. It has 25 scenario questions — 5 from each of 5 skill areas — and a 25-minute limit. You need 70% (18 of 25) to pass and 90% for distinction.

Nothing. There is no fee to take a test, to receive the certificate, to have it emailed or to verify it, and no sign-up.

On our server, not in your browser. The answers never reach the page until you submit, so a certificate can only be earned by passing. Each certificate gets a unique credential ID stored by Science of Apps.

You see your score for each area and every question with the correct answer and why, with the published source behind it. You can retake after 30 minutes, and the retake draws questions you haven't seen yet.

No. Every certificate is dated, so it always shows when you passed. Retake a test any time for a newer date or a higher score.

Yes. After you pass, Add to LinkedIn opens the Licenses & certifications form with the certificate name, Science of Apps as the issuer, the issue date, your credential ID and the verification link filled in. You can also download it as a PDF or PNG, and it's emailed to you as a PDF.

Every certificate has a credential ID and a QR code. Scanning it, or entering the ID at scienceofapps.com/certification/verify/, shows the holder's name, the certification, the score and the issue date from our records.

No. They are Science of Apps' own assessments of applied skill. They aren't issued by a university or standards body, and they work best alongside a portfolio that shows the skills in real work.