Who We Are

The What Works Clearinghouse was 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. The WWC is administered by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences through a contract to Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., a nationally recognized leader in education research and in rigorous reviews of scientific evidence. Subcontractors to the project are Analytica, Chesapeake Research Associates, Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, CommunicationWorks, Empirical Education, Inc., Human Resources Research Organization, ICF-Caliber, Optimal Solutions Group, RAND Corporation, RG Research Group, SRI International, Twin Peaks Partners, University of Arkansas, and the University of Wisconsin.