New Online “Primer” Helps Policymakers Evaluate Education Research

March 10, 2004

Aurora, Colo . — The Education Commission of the States (ECS) and Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) have launched a new online tool to help policymakers, education leaders, reporters and others better understand and evaluate education research. Called A Policymaker’s Primer on Education Research: How To Understand, Evaluate and Use It, the interactive, online document is a first-of-its kind effort. The primer helps policymakers and other interested individuals answer three questions:

1. What does the research say?
   
   
2. Is the research trustworthy?
   
   
3. How can the research be used to guide policy?

“We’re trying to bridge what has too long been a gulf between education research and education policy,” added ECS President Ted Sanders. “The Primer is the most painless way I know for everyone who works in education to acquire a basic understanding of important concepts of statistics and research methods.”

The Primer provides an overview of research methods and statistics. It is highly interactive, with flash animation and hot links to examples, additional discussions, pop-up definitions of technical terms and a lengthy education research glossary. It also features tools to guide users through an assessment of research studies. There’s a special “Understanding Statistics Tutorial” and another tutorial on searching the ERIC database. For users who want an abridged version of the material in the Primer, there is an “Applied Quick Primer” keyed to the most basic sections.

The Primer is available online only at www.ecs.org/ResearchPrimer or www.mcrel.org/primer. It was written by McREL Principal Researcher Patricia Lauer and funded through grants from the U.S. Department of Education.

McREL is a nationally recognized, private, nonprofit organization located in Aurora, Colo., dedicated to improving education for all students through applied research, product development and service. Its staff of highly respected educators and researchers focuses on providing educators and policymakers with the highest quality, field-tested, research-based products and services available in PreK–16 education.