Chapter 4: Considerations in the Design of High-Impact Policy-Relevant Research

Over the past two decades, there has been an increased emphasis in educational research in the United States on randomized controlled trials, interventions, and other efforts to establish causal relationships between policy initiatives and key outcomes for students, teachers, and schools. This change has been due to several factors including the 2002 National Research Council (NRC) report, Scientific Research in Education; the creation of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) in 2002 within the U.S. Department of Education and its strong focus on experimental research; the formation of the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) within IES in 2002; the creation of the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (SREE) in 2004; and the emphasis in educational policy research journals over the past 15 years on establishing causal inferences through the use of experimental designs.