Common to No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) is the call for education professionals to implement academic and behavioral interventions based in quality scientific research. Problem is, there have not been too many places educators, families, or policy makers could turn to locate this research base, let alone ensure that it found its way into practice. A number of organizations have recognized and responded to this need from within the education community -- their efforts are summarized below along with links to their respective web sites...
1) NICHCY Research Center
Offers a range of materials to connect people with easy to understand educational research:
- NICHCY's online Evidence for Education modules and downloadable PDF's explore the best evidence-based practices education has to offer. What sort of information will you find here? First, you'll find an easy-to-read review of educational research relating to specific academic or behavioral interventions. You'll also find practical examples of the topic at hand. Finally, you'll find connections to more detailed resources to assist you in moving the research into practice.
- NICHCY Research-to-Practice Database provides a growing number of structured abstracts that condense technical research reports and articles into short accessible briefs. Even better, within each abstract are "Research Connections" to real world examples of practice based on the research.
- Research Basics provides just that, the basics on why research is important and how to make sense of it.
2) Best Evidence Encyclopedia
Brought to you by the Center for Data-Driven Reform in Education, at Johns Hopkins University and provides information on educational programs that have been validated in research. The web site presents high-quality evaluation of programs and includes:
- Brief, readable "educator summaries" of research on educational programs using symbols like those used by Consumer Reports.
- Full-text reviews on each topic.
3) Campbell Collaboration (C2)
A non-profit organization that aims to help people make well-informed decisions about the effects of interventions in the social, behavioral and educational arenas. C2's objectives are to prepare, maintain and disseminate systematic reviews of studies of social interventions, and to make their findings accessible to decision makers and the general public.
4) Florida Center for Reading Research
Reports are intended to be a source of information about programs that will help teachers, principals, and district personnel in their choice of materials that can be used by skilled teachers to provide effective instruction. In addition to describing programs and their use, these reports provide information on the extent to which their content, organization, and instructional strategies are consistent with scientifically based research in reading.
5) IDEA Partnership's Results for Kids Library
Responds to several challenges and opportunities inherent in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) and the No Child Left Behind Act:
(a) early intervening to prevent learning difficulties from leading to academic failure;
(b) response to intervention to determine progress and adjust instruction;
(c) the need for instruction that works for culturally and/or linguistically diverse students;
(d) the imperative to reduce referrals of children who do not need special education;
(e) the impetus to increase success for all students in the general curriculum;
(f) the contribution of non-academic services to improving academic performance; and
(g) "Raising Achievement: A New Path for No Child Left Behind,” a 2005 initiative of the U.S. Department of Education.
6) National Insitute for Literacy: A Partnership for Reading
A major initiative to identify quality reading instruction research began with the work of the National Reading Panel between 1997 and 2000. The Panel, established by Congress, examined the available research and identified 460 studies that met its criteria for research quality. This database contains abstracts of these studies and will continue to add more abstracts on a regular basis as new studies into reading instruction are conducted and reviewed. The database is organized into seven categories related to the teaching of reading.
7) Promising Practice Network (PPN)
Dedicated to providing quality evidence-based information about what works to improve the lives of children, youth, and families. The PPN site features summaries of programs and practices that are proven to improve outcomes for children. All of the information on the site has been carefully screened for scientific rigor, relevance, and clarity.
8) SAMHSA National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices
Searchable database of interventions for the prevention and treatment of mental and substance use disorders. SAMHSA has developed this resource to help people, agencies, and organizations implement programs and practices in their communities.
9) What Works Clearinghouse
Established in 2002 by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences to provide educators, policymakers, researchers, and the public with a central and trusted source of scientific evidence of what works in education.The WWC aims to promote informed education decision making through a set of easily accessible databases and user-friendly reports that provide education consumers with high-quality reviews of the effectiveness of replicable educational interventions (programs, products, practices, and policies) that intend to improve student outcomes.
10) The Wing Institute
An independent, non-profit organization, promotes evidence-based education policies and practices by facilitating::
- Efficacy research (what works?) establishing promising interventions through rigorous, high quality research
- Effectiveness research (when does it work?)
identifying through research the minimum conditions for interventions to be successful (student characteristics, setting features, resource demands, social contingencies)
- Implementation (how do we make it work?) addressing all relevant variables so an intervention will be successfully adopted in a particular setting
- Monitoring (is it working?) establishing the effectiveness of interventions through on-going evaluation
Know of others? Share your comments below!