A New Approach to Education Research

The Institute of Education Sciences, part of the Education Department, on Monday announced that it is considering a new approach to replicating research, centered on interventions that already have “strong evidence of impact,” especially across a variety of settings. In a message, Mark Schneider, center director, described a potential new grant competition that will support a maximum of five replication studies per intervention, in which the recipients of these grants will carry out one or more replications. Studies of interventions could vary by location, student population, teacher type and mode of delivery. Details are forthcoming, Schneider said, adding, “We hope ultimately to release [a request for application] that will, by more carefully structuring and supporting replications of interventions that have evidence of impact, help all of us provide better answers to the central question of our field: What works for whom and under what conditions?”