This report is the second from the congressionally-mandated evaluation of the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) program authorized by the Education Sciences Reform Act (P.L. 107-279). For this report, 8 (out of 24) impact study reports produced by the RELs under their 2006-2011 contracts and published by IES were rated by expert panels for their quality and relevance. In addition, samples of state educational agency and school district administrators were surveyed during the 2011-12 school year regarding their education research and technical assistance needs and their awareness of, use of, and satisfaction with the REL program.
What did the study find?
- Expert panelists rated the 8 impact study reports selected for review as, on average, between "strong" and "very strong" in quality (4.10 on a 5-point scale, with 5 being the highest value), and between "relevant" and "very relevant" (4.06 on a 5-point scale).
- Eighty-six percent of state educational agency administrators and 52 percent of school district administrators reported being "very familiar," "somewhat familiar," or "a little familiar" with the REL program.
- Fifty percent of state administrators and 26 percent of district administrators who were at least "a little familiar" with the REL program were "very satisfied" with it.
