During FY 2014 and FY 2015, IES opened the Continuous Improvement Research in Education (Continuous Improvement) topic as the second topic within the Partnerships and Collaborations Focused on Problems of Practice or Policy program (84.305H).
Through the Continuous Improvement topic, IES supported partnerships between research institutions and state or local education agencies to address a specific education issue or problem of high importance to the education agency. The partnership selected an existing approach (or approaches) to the issue/problem with demonstrated promise or prior evidence for improving student outcomes. The partnership then adapted and revised the approach by applying continuous improvement strategies to improve implementation, intermediate outcomes, and student outcomes. In addition, the partnership identified systemic changes needed to support the approach.
Through this research, IES also aimed to help researchers and practitioners build knowledge about how promising approaches can be adapted to address local needs while taking into account the conditions necessary for wider implementation.