Next Steps
Since inception, the Board has approved the following resolutions:
- Congress should designate the Institute of Education Sciences, in statute, as the lead agency for all congressionally authorized evaluations of U.S. Department of Education programs, responsible for all operations, contracts, and reports associated with such evaluations. (September 2006)
- Congress should allow the U.S. Department of Education to pool funds generated by the 0.5 percent evaluation set-aside from smaller programs. (September 2006)
- The U.S. Department of Education should use its "waiver" authority to build scientifically valid knowledge about what works in K-12 education. (September 2006)
- Congress, in authorizing and funding evaluations of federal education programs, should require [program] grantees, as a condition of grant award, to participate in the evaluation if asked, including the random assignment to intervention and control groups as appropriate. (April 2005)
- Congress should create, in statute, effective incentives for federal education program grantees to adopt practices or strategies meeting the highest standard of evidence of sizeable, sustained effects on important educational outcomes. (May 2007)
- Congress and the U.S. Department of Education should ensure that individual student data can be used by researchers (with appropriate safeguards for confidentiality) in order to provide evaluations and analyses to improve our schools. (September 2006)
The Board is planning to work with Congress, the U.S. Department of Education and IES to advance implementation of these resolutions.
The Board has engaged an independent research team to collect data to assist NBES in an evaluation of IES, which will look at IES's effectiveness in carrying out its priorities and mission. The evaluation will provide a systematic and balanced assessment of IES's progress in the areas of rigor, relevance, and utilization. The findings will aid in identifying any elements of IES and ESRA that will impede the agency's ability to support and disseminate rigorous research. Due to logistical constraints, this evaluation is expected to be completed in April 2008. Upon completion, the Board will provide a report to the congressional education committees.