Evidence-based education
[14] Scientifically based research (SBR)[15] (also evidence-based practice in education) first appeared in United States Federal legislation in the Reading Excellence Act[16] and subsequently in the Comprehensive School Reform program.
[21] However, it is up to the individual States and school districts to develop plans to implement the standards, and the National Governors Guide to Early Literacy appears to lack details.
[24][25] According to reports, the Common Core State Standards Initiative does not appear to have led to a significant national improvement in students' performance.
[26] The Center on Standards, Alignment, Instruction, and Learning (C-SAIL)[27] conducted a study of how the Common Core is received in schools.
It reported these findings: a) there is moderately high buy-in for the standards among teachers, principals, and superintendents, but buy-in was significantly lower for teachers, b) there is wide variation in teachers' alignment to the standards by content area and grade level, c) specificity is desired by some educators, however states and districts are reluctant to provide too much specificity, d) State officials generally agree that accountability changes under ESSA have allowed them to adopt a "smart power" message that is less punitive and more supportive.
[35] In 2014 the National Foundation for Educational Research, Berkshire, England[36] published a report entitled Using Evidence in the Classroom: What Works and Why.
[37] The review synthesises effective approaches to school and teacher engagement with evidence and discusses challenges, areas for attention and action.
The final report made it clear that research and teacher inquiry were of paramount importance in developing self-improving schools.
It states its intention to support an evidence-informed teaching profession by increasing teachers' access to and use of "high quality evidence".
[45] In addition, on October 4, 2016, the Government announced an investment of around £75 million in the Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund, to support high-quality, evidence-informed, professional development for teachers and school leaders.
A research report in July 2017 entitled Evidence-informed teaching: an evaluation of progress in England[46] concluded this was necessary, but not sufficient.
It said that the main challenge for policy makers and researchers was the level of leadership capacity and commitment to make it happen.
In other words, the attitudes and actions of school leaders influence how classroom teachers are supported and held accountable for using evidence informed practices.
[52][53][54] Speaking in 2017, Harvey Bischof, Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF), said there is a need for teacher-centred education based upon what works in the classroom.
He suggested that Ontario education "lacks a culture of empiricism" and is vulnerable to gurus, ideologues and advocates promoting unproven trends and fads.
[55] Neuroscientist Mark Seidenberg, University of Wisconsin–Madison, stated that "A stronger scientific ethos (in education) could have provided a much needed defense against bad science", particularly in the field of early reading instruction.
For example, it is suggested that some meta-analyses findings are not credible because they do not exclude or control for studies with small sample sizes or very short durations, and where the researchers are doing the measurements.
The reviews cover programs in areas such as mathematics, reading, writing, science, comprehensive school reform, and early childhood education; and includes such topics as effectiveness of technology and struggling readers.
It uses the following categories of ratings: In 2021, BEE released a review of research on 61 studies of 51 different programs for struggling readers in elementary schools.
[80] The February 11, 2021 issue makes a case for using Federal Government COVID-19 funding (the Learning Recovery Act) to provide for the "implementation of proven tutoring programs during ordinary school times".
[30] It offers an online, downloadable Teaching & Learning Toolkit evaluating and describing a variety of educational interventions according to cost, evidence and impact.
It is reported to have received "widespread support ",[87] and offers free up-to-date information on current PK-12 programs in reading, math, social-emotional learning, and attendance that meet the standards of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (the United States K–12 public education policy signed by President Obama in 2015).
Programs can be filtered by a) ESSA evidence rating (strong, moderate, and promising), b) school grade, c) community (rural, suburban, urban), d) groups (African American, Asian American, Hispanic, White, free and reduced price lunch, English learners, and special education), and e) a variety of features such as cooperative learning, technology, tutoring, etc.
Social programs that work[93] and Straight Talk on Evidence[94] are administered by the Arnold Ventures LLC's[95] evidence-based policy team, with offices in Houston, Washington, D.C., and New York City.
What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) of Washington, DC,[98] was established in 2002 and evaluates numerous educational programs in twelve categories by the quality and quantity of the evidence and the effectiveness.
[102] Individual studies are available that have been reviewed by WWC and categorized according to the evidence tiers of the United States Every student succeeds act (ESSA).
[103] Search filters are available for the following: Intervention reports are provided for programs according to twelve topics (e.g. literacy, mathematics, science, behavior, etc.).
The results may have changed since that time, however current information is available on the WWC website, including the outcome domains that did not have "strong evidence".Some of the concerns expressed about WWC are that it appears to have difficulty keeping up with the research so it may not be current; and when a program is not listed on their database, it may be that it did not meet their criteria or they have not yet reviewed it, but you don't know which.
[107] In addition Straight Talk on Evidence, authored by the Arnold Ventures LLC' Evidence-Based Policy team, on January 16, 2018, expressed concerns about the validity of the ratings provided by WWC.
