‘What Works’ Research Site Unveiled

By Debra Viadero

Washington

After nearly two years in development, a new federally backed research service on "what works" in education began rolling its first products off the assembly line last week.

Launched with $18.5 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Education, the newly operational What Works Clearinghouse is the department’s electronic version of a Consumer Reports for research in education.

Part of the Bush administration’s push to transform education into an evidence-based field, the clearinghouse has the job of vetting research on programs and strategies and publishing the results on a Web site where practitioners and policymakers...