Policy Makers

• In Event: Making Research Understandable and Actionable to Nonresearchers

Abstract

Policymakers set the rules of the game, and we hope these rules are empirically supported. There is a long-running debate among education researchers and policy experts about whether research is ever part of the policymaking process, with the attitude among several key players in federal policy that research is almost never a factor – and that there are structural barriers that prevent research from ever having a meaningful impact. Our view is that these barriers are not insurmountable, and we will share examples of long-standing policy projects that have had at least a limited impact on policy at both the federal and state levels.

Author

• Jonathan A. Plucker, Johns Hopkins University