A major tenet of both the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the No Child Left Behind Act is the identification and use of evidence-based practices, or those instructional techniques shown by research as most likely to improve student outcomes meaningfully. However, much confusion exists regarding the meaning and potential…

Using evidence-based practices, or those instructional techniques shown by research to improve student outcomes meaningfully, increases the performance of students with disabilities and should therefore be a priority for special educators. But how does a practice come to be considered evidence based? The unique characteristics of group…

In response to recent trends and legislation, the concept of implementing evidence-based practices has become a critical component of contemporary schooling. It is important that teachers and families of students with disabilities understand the role that qualitative research plays in determining whether a practice is in fact evidence based.…

Research in the field of special education often incorporates single-subject designs to investigate the effectiveness of educational practices for students with disabilities. As such, it is important that educators and educational professionals understand the characteristics of single-subject research methodologies and how those characteristics…

There has been an increasing focus on evidence-based practices in special education with efforts underway to authoritatively identify those practices that are evidence based. However, the identification of evidence-based practices is only the beginning of the process of implementing evidence-based special education. The professional wisdom of…

Briefly describes the content, organization, and multiple influences on the 4-H program in relation to a national program evaluation. Discusses influences of the sponsors and evaluators on the evaluation and problems encountered because of competing values and perceptions. Reviews evaluation findings and speculates on the utilization of the…

Addressing the problems of cross-research analysis, two Federal Interagency Panels have recommended that researchers: 1) use more complete definitions of the variables used in their study; 2) be more precise in their descriptions of populations; and 3) insure that their methodology and research lends itself to a comparability review. (BJG)

Answers criticisms by Mary Anne Bunda, Ernest House, and Mary Kennedy. Discusses, among other issues, legal authorization for the use of higher quality evaluation designs and the use of evaluation research results. (GC)

An examination of the effect of intervention strategies utilized in the Research and Development Utilization (RDU) Program on school improvement outcomes was the subject of this document. The basic Federal/State approaches to support local school improvement efforts are a coercive/manipulative approach, direct support, or indirect support.…

This report examines Federal support for knowledge production and utilization (KPU), using data from the Interagency Research Information System developed by George Washington University's Social Research Group for the Interagency Panels on Early Childhood and Adolescence Research and Development. The report locates the data available for this…

Criticizes the Holtzman Report (Boruch and Cordray) focusing on the politics behind the national educational policymaking process. (GC)

Reviews the process employed in evaluating the national 4-H program. Holds that the evaluation design was influenced by political, rather than methodological, concerns. Takes examples from the 4-H evaluation to illustrate dilemmas that have emerged in current evaluation process and theory. (Author/GC)

Focusing on the problems of the federal role in education, the educational "competency" of federal programs, and the usefulness of research-based knowledge for educational practice, this report evaluates the Experimental Schools Program (ESP), a small federal program in the early 1970s that aimed to help poor and minority students by…

Part of a special issue on organizational research utilization, this article analyzes two National Institute of Education programs--the Research and Development Utilization Program and the Experimental Schools Program--and finds that a key reason for nonutilization of research is the "policy vacuum" in which research is conducted.…

This document reviews the range of findings contained in 10 recently commissioned reports on how Chapter 1 programs are implemented and how successful they are in increasing the achievement of disadvantaged students. Although the conclusions of the reports are not the same, there are some developing consensuses. Findings are discussed in the…