What do studies show? While trolling the education news of the week, I’ve seen studies across the country that say AP test scores and participation are falling, that students in Milwaukee’s voucher program are experiencing much higher graduation rate than their counterparts in traditional public school settings. I’ve even found an interview in which Senator Obama says he would be open to vouchers if studies show “that’s what’s best for kids”.
It seems that a lot of the info we’re working with, though, is outdated, bad, or just plain incomplete. There are some things we can say with certainty, of course, but as far as making real assessment about the what works best for kids (and by that, what works best for Kid A and Kid B, not just what works for kids as a generality), we are pitifully lacking in longitudinal data. We have some of the best medical and scientific research programs in the United States, but there is a decided lack of entrepreneurial research and development in education.
It’s a daunting prospect. Shall we create a government mandate for this sort of R and D, at the risk of stifling a lot of the work through the constraints of government, or shall we do nothing and hope research simply happens and that it is of good quality?
There is another option, I think, that would give incentives for independent research and allow them access to any data that is being collected for the purposes of R and D on student performance, spending and school achievement. We need every great teacher we can get, why not every great researcher?
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