What Works for Whom? Bias and Discrimination in Establishing an Equitable Evidence Base in Education Research

• In Event: Measurement, Implementation, and Evaluation Across the K–12 Educator Pipeline

Abstract

Federal policy requires that all activities, strategies and interventions used to fund school improvement are “evidence-based”. Education leaders choose these evidence-based programs based on evaluation studies and tools such as ERIC and the What Works Clearinghouse. This paper highlights concerns related to common standards for what constitutes as strong evidence and their relevance for high-need schools contexts and for improving schooling for underserved student groups. We conduct a review of teacher induction research to discuss three main concerns: (a) underrepresentation of underserved students; (b) sparsity of equity-focused outcomes in this research; and (c) devaluation of context in the research base.

Authors

• Etai Mizrav, American Institutes for Research

• Lisa Lachlan-Hache, American Institutes for Research