An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Institute of Education Sciences in Carrying Out Its Priorities and Mission. Final Report

Résumé du livre

The report evaluates the effectiveness of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) in carrying out its priorities and mission using primarily pre-existing data sources. The study focused on three central questions: (1) Rigor (To what extent, and in which ways, has IES been successful in advancing the rigor of education research); (2) Relevance (To what extent, and in which ways, has IES increased the relevance and usefulness of education research); and (3) Utilization (To what extent, and in which ways, has IES increased evidence-based decision-making). Interviews were conducted with key IES stakeholders to determine the best available data to answer these questions and, based on the data, more specific evaluation subquestions were developed and mapped to the existing data sources. In terms of the three primary goals of IES, consensus indicates that the Institute has made the most visible and prominent contribution within the area of rigor, whereas relevance and utilization seem to have only more recently become a focus of IES. Discussion and recommendations for future evaluations are included. (Contains 34 footnotes, 1 exhibit, 20 figures, and 22 tables.) [This report was produced by Synergy Enterprises Inc. (SEI) for the National Board for Education Sciences. It was written with the assistance of Kimberley Ranney, Stephanie Schmalensee, and Joyce Stern.].