There is a new movement in education throughout the English-speaking world toward evidence-based reform, policies promoting the creation, evaluation, and widespread application of programs and practices that produce significantly better outcomes than current practices. Although evidence-based reform is new in education, other fields have long since embraced it. In particular, medicine, agriculture, and engineering began in the 20th century to require that innovative medicines, seeds, and machines be put to the test before being widely adopted. The result was revolutionary progress in each of these fields, which continues today. Evidence-based reform in any area creates a dynamic of progressive improvement, in which many researchers and developers are working to replace today’s best solutions with something even more effective, confident that policy makers and the market will enthusiastically adopt proven innovations.

 

One of the most important requirements for evidence-based reform is the development of a substantial set of replicable programs and practices with strong evidence of effectiveness. Educators and policymakers must have confidence that if they embrace evidence-based reform, they will be able to choose among many programs that have been developed, rigorously evaluated, and found to be effective

 

The Center for Research and Reform in Education has established the largest review project in education, the Best Evidence Encyclopedia, or the BEE. It reviews research on programs and practices for elementary and secondary schools. The BEE contains brief educator’s summaries in each area and full-scale reviews. Currently it has extensive reviews in mathematics, elementary reading, secondary reading, programs for struggling readers, early childhood education, and comprehensive school reform. Almost all the full reports have also been published in selective journals, which provides an external check on the scientific value of the reviews.

 

Other U.S. review projects include the What Works Clearinghouse, Social Programs that Work, the Comprehensive School Reform Quality Center, and the Promising Practices Network. The Best Evidence Encyclopedia links to the education sections of other websites and is trying to facilitate access to reviews of research in education from all sources.