Report Critiques Evidence on School Improvement Models

Only two of the most popular school improvement models for elementary schools have “moderately strong” evidence to show that they work, according to a consumer-style guide released last week by a Washington-based research group.

The federally financed report by the American Institutes for Research rates 22 of the most widely used comprehensive-school-reform models on the strength of the research on them and other characteristics. Although the AIR produced a similar study five years ago, reviewers this time judged programs by a tougher standard, one that mirrors the federal government’s definition of what constitutes “scientifically based research” in education.

By that measure, the researchers found that none of the programs has accumulated “very strong” evidence of effectiveness. Only two programs—Direct Instruction, a model based in Eugene, Ore., and the Baltimore-based Success for All program—earned the group’s...