茄子视频

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter

The U.S. Department of Education recently announced its intention to reimagine the future of the Institute of Education Sciences and is now . That鈥檚 welcome news, because IES plays a unique and vital role in understanding what鈥檚 working 鈥� and what isn鈥檛 鈥� in our public education system, and in helping states and districts tackle urgent challenges to support students, educators and families.聽

As the department undertakes this effort, especially in light of deep cuts to IES and that took place earlier this year, it鈥檚 important to recognize and protect what鈥檚 working in our federal education research and development system, as well as what needs improvement. If department leaders are serious about revisiting their approach to IES, there are concrete steps they can take to protect and strengthen education research and development, making it even more effective and efficient in the long run.

, a coalition of leading education research and development organizations across the country, sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon outlining actionable recommendations for the administration. These recommendations fall into three categories: prioritizing research that addresses pressing state and local needs; maximizing impact through coordination, scale, and infrastructure; and helping states and districts turn their knowledge into operational success through improved communication and support.

Education researchers, policymakers and educators should be part of the process of identifying the most urgent needs or research questions. To accomplish that, the department should establish learning agendas, which can help identify and align those priorities.

Once those needs are identified, the administration can create faster research tracks for high-need topics, using IES鈥檚 current grant program as a model for success. It can also streamline study approvals by decentralizing IES鈥檚 review processes and accelerating launch and response timelines. And it should lean on rapid-cycle tools like the School PULSE survey to deliver real-time data to states and districts.

To streamline the collection and use of data relevant to school communities across the country, the administration can pursue modernizations like the innovative 2024 creation of EDPass, which transformed the way states submit federal reports to EDfacts, reduced the burden of those submitting data and enabled faster public reporting. Programs like the Regional Education Laboratories and Comprehensive Centers (CCs) were already working in close partnership with states and districts; IES can restart these programs and build on their strengths by positioning RELs to identify key, local data and evidence needs, and using CCs to support the implementation of evidence-based policies and practices.

Building on ongoing efforts, the administration can act now to solve the 鈥渓ast mile鈥� challenge: ensuring valuable data and evidence-based policies and programs make it into classrooms in ways that are clear and actionable. Harnessing new technologies such as artificial intelligence and social media, along with and approaches such as professional networks and coaching structures in school districts, can help reach teachers frequently and repeatedly to provide up-to-date, trustworthy information on what works, where and why.

The administration can require every applicable IES-funded research study on policy and practice to include a practitioner-facing implementation resource, and create a framework for recognizing states, districts, and even individual educators that are using research and evidence-based policy effectively to improve student achievement.聽聽

At its best, the federal education research and development system generates valuable evidence on what works, supports states and districts in addressing their unique needs, collects and analyzes vital national data, and represents a critical cross-country link to share valuable insights and best practices across states and regions.

The recommendations outlined above 鈥� informed by researchers and educators on the front lines of supporting our nation鈥檚 students and families 鈥� will help ensure that every part of the system is more responsive to the needs of states and districts and can transform isolated success stories into scalable, sustained improvement. 

Our collective goal should be to build a federal education research and development system that is efficient, effective, and accountable. The administration can make progress toward that goal by working collaboratively with the researchers and educators, and by focusing on strategic updates to IES that will pave the way for stronger research and development now and, ultimately, better outcomes for students, educators and families across the country. 

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how The 74鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.