1.7: Evidential Basis
Transform education into an evidence-based field. Other Information:
Since the passage of NCLB, the Department has promoted the use of scientific research to make education an evidence-based
field. The Department’s Institute of Education Sciences will continue working to increase the supply of high-quality and highly
relevant research; to provide policy-makers, educators, parents and other concerned citizens with ready access to syntheses
of research and objective information that allow more informed and effective decisions; and to encourage the use of this knowledge
to improve student performance. Strategy 1. Develop or identify effective programs and practices for improving reading and
writing achievement, mathematics and science achievement, and teacher quality and effectiveness. Through its National Centers
for Education Research and Special Education Research, the Department’s Institute of Education Sciences will continue to fund
high quality research projects to develop or identify programs and practices to improve reading and writing achievement, mathematics
and science achievement, and teacher quality and effectiveness. The rigorous evidence standards of the What Works Clearinghouse
(WWC) will be used to determine if and when projects have yielded programs and practices that have been shown to be effective.
The Institute’s support for a new generation of education research began only in 2002. Effective programs and practices are
beginning to emerge from those investments. Strategy 2. Disseminate information about the effectiveness of education programs
and practices. The Department’s Institute of Education Sciences will continue to fund the WWC to provide a resource for education
decision makers on the effectiveness of education programs and practices. The WWC reviews research studies and evidence related
to education programs and practices and reports on the scientific quality of the studies and the nature and strength of the
evidence related to the effectiveness of particular programs and practices. The WWC website is a user-friendly site for obtaining
information. The Department’s Institute of Education Sciences will also fund the development of Practice Guides. Whereas the
intervention reports of the WWC discussed above focus on individual programs and practices, Practice Guides will provide coherent
guidance and recommendations on practice with respect to particular problems that require multifaceted solutions that span
domains such as curriculum, teacher training, assessment, and accountability. The problem of improving student achievement
must be addressed now, even when the research base is immature. Practice Guides will incorporate the best available evidence
and alert users to the quality of the evidence supporting particular recommendations, and they will be widely disseminated
by the Department.
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