It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Institute of Education Sciences' 2007 Research Conference. The nation needs policymakers, educators, and concerned citizens to see the value of rigorous evidence, to turn to it when difficult decisions arise, and to insist that new policies that can't wait for evidence be tested as they are implemented. That requires a transformation in the way education is conducted. We must become a learning society—a society that plans and invests in learning how to improve its education programs. IES is at the center of that transformation because that is our statutory mission and there is substantial, bipartisan political support for evidence-based education policy. IES has made substantial progress in the last four years. We have established the infrastructure that is necessary to support rigorous and relevant research, and investments through the infrastructure are beginning to yield important results.
This event showcases the results of IES-supported research activities and provides an opportunity for the IES community of researchers to interact with each other and hear from prominent practitioners and policymakers.
Thank you for your work and your attendance. My colleagues and I at IES look forward to an exciting two days.
Grover J. (Russ) Whitehurst
Washington D.C., June 2007