As part of the goal to improve the performance of all students, the No Child Left Behind Act requires programs and practices to be based on research. The term, "scientifically based research programs," appears throughout the law – from reading to teacher professional development to supplemental education services to anti-drug-abuse programs.

The mandate for research-based programs raises questions regarding definition, enforcement and the quality of existing education research. Despite reservations and concerns, the insistence on using "what works" could prompt discussion, debate and action, and ultimately lead to better teaching and learning in classrooms across the country.

Under the No Child Left Behind Act, the "term 'scientifically based research' (A) means research that involves the application of rigorous, systematic and objective procedures to obtain reliable and valid knowledge relevant to education activities and programs; and (B) includes research that:

• Employs systematic, empirical methods that draw on observation or experiment
• Involves rigorous data analyses that are adequate to test the stated hypotheses and justify the general conclusions drawn
• Relies on measurements or observational methods that provide reliable and valid data across evaluators and observers, across multiple measurements and observations, and across studies by the same or different investigators
• Is evaluated using experimental or quasi-experimental designs in which individuals, entities, programs or activities are assigned to different conditions and with appropriate controls to evaluate the effects of the condition of interest, with a preference for random-assignment experiments, or other designs to the extent that those designs contain within-condition or across-condition controls
• Ensures experimental studies are presented in sufficient detail and clarity to allow for replication or, at a minimum, offer the opportunity to build systematically on their findings
• Has been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal or approved by a panel of independent experts through a comparably rigorous, objective and scientific review."

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