An important provision in the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, and in Vermont’s Education Quality Standards is the use of evidence-based programs and practices to improve student learning, outcomes, and well-being. The purpose of this document is to support educators and leaders in Supervisory Unions/Districts/Schools in their data-based decision-making and continuous improvement planning related to reviewing, selecting, and application of evidence-based practices.
Resources for Understanding Levels of Evidence and the Research Yielding the Evidence
US Dept. of Education: Using Evidence to Strengthen Education Investments: Guidance to provide local educational agencies (LEAs), schools, educators, and partner organizations with information to assist them in selecting and using “evidence-based” activities, strategies, and interventions, as defined in Title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA).
Results for America: Evidence Provisions Explainer: This document provides a high-level summary of the various provisions and an explanation of ESSA’s definition of “evidence-based” practices.
Results for America’s ESSA Levels of Evidence Summary details the types of evidence required for various ESSA related sections and programs.
ESSA Tiers of Evidence: What You Need to Know: This Regional Education Laboratories (REL) document details the factors determining evidence ratings with an embedded matrix delineating the factors within each tier of evidence, and a supplemental video explanation of the tiers of evidence.
The Basics of Reviewing a Research Study (REL): This document helps support teams in understanding the essential components of a research study when evaluating the efficacy related to tiers of evidence.
Effect Size Basics: Understanding the Strengths of a Program’s Impact (REL): This brief helps support teams in understanding the strength and magnitude of a particular program’s effect on expected outcomes.
Understanding Evidence-based Practices Webinar: This webinar provides an overview of evidence-based practices informed by ESSA, offers resources for identifying appropriate practices, and provides an outline of the process for identifying evidence-based practices.
Resources for Reviewing and Selecting Evidence-based Practices
Guidance and Toolkit for evaluating evidence-based interventions: From WestEd, this toolkit helps LEAs evaluate evidence-based interventions and select those aligned with current data trends.
IES Practice Guides: These practice guides, from the Institute of Education Sciences, explain high-leverage practices supported by research and evidence. Guides support a variety of subject areas and grade levels.
The following sources link to databases in which professionals can search programs/practices and review the current degree to which they are supported by research and evidence:
- Evidence for ESSA
- What Works Clearinghouse
- Best Evidence Encyclopedia
- National Center on Intensive Intervention
These open-access search engines can help educators search for research and evidence related to specific programs or practices:
The following list contains sources for evidence-based practices applied in currently operating Networked Improvement Communities (partnerships between LEAs, AOE, and subject matter experts/researchers):
IES Practice Guide: Improving Reading Comprehension K-3
IES Practice Guide: Teaching Elementary Students to be Effective Writers
IES Practice Guide: Teaching Math to Young Children
IES Practice Guide: Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding K-3
IES Practice Guide: Assessing Students Struggling with Mathematics: Intervention in the Early Grades
Essential School-wide/Center-wide Practices for Literacy and Mathematics