by AFT President Edward J. McElroy
January 2005

Making Sense of Research and Reforms
Is your school making successful educational decisions? Make sure your opinion is heard!

New math. All phonics. Whole language. School reconstitution. If you've been around education for a while, chances are you've seen more than your share of educational fads come and go. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these "reforms" amount to little more than old wine in new bottles.

A good start, but...

Teachers are often the first to sound the alarm when education policies and practices fall short of the rosy predictions that accompany them. There are signs that the federal government is finally catching up. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2001 (more commonly called the No Child Left Behind Act) calls for the use of "scientifically based research" as the foundation for education programs and classroom instruction. That's a good start. But, how can classroom teachers determine which "reforms" hold the most promise for their students? While teachers can hardly be expected to be authorities on research methodology and evaluation practices, there are basic criteria they can use to determine whether decision makers have done their homework on programs school authorities are considering or have adopted.

Borrowing what works best

The absolute baseline for evaluating educational programs and practices is whether their results have undergone peer review in order to detect mistakes or deficiencies. Such review typically consists of an initial critique by several experts in the subject and then possible publication in a journal of educational research. Peer review is a minimal quality check. Not all information in peer-reviewed journals is necessarily rock solid, but the process increases the probability that weaknesses will be identified and corrected. Another important criterion for evaluating educational "reforms" is whether the results can be and have been replicated. We've all heard amazing stories of educational success that for whatever reason couldn't be duplicated in other settings. Schools must be certain that they adopt strategies that have been shown to work well for a large and diverse population of students and teachers. The examples are out there: America is full of high-performing public schools, many of them operating in challenging circumstances. Schools must borrow from what works best.

High stakes

The quality of education we provide our children is at least as important as the healthcare they receive. There are ways to improve the quality of both, but such evaluation mechanisms are far more common in the world of medicine than in education. Before a medical procedure is approved for widespread use, for example, it is carefully tested and evaluated. The results might then be submitted for publication in a medical journal for peer review. Independent researchers can then try to replicate or disprove the published results. This process is intended to insure that only the procedures that work safely and effectively for the greatest number of people are used. We should adopt such processes more widely in the world of education. Teachers rarely choose the curricula for their school. But they sometimes have a say in what reading and math programs their school adopts or what professional development courses teachers will be offered. You do not have to be experts on education research and methodology, just willing to ask questions to determine whether the people making these decisions have chosen wisely. The stakes are too high for students and teachers to spend time and energy on educational pursuits with anything other than the highest probability of success. 

Reprinted with permission of the publisher, Early Years, Inc.
From the January, 2005 issue of Teaching K-8 Magazine, Norwalk, CT 06854