Opinion
Education Letter to the Editor

Can Government Ever Judge Research Well?

January 15, 2008 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

Robert E. Slavin calls in his Dec. 19, 2007, Commentary (“The What Works Clearinghouse: Time for a Fresh Start”) for a complete makeover of the federally sponsored What Works Clearinghouse, and cites numerous methodological problems with the clearinghouse’s analyses of educational research.

While laudable, Mr. Slavin’s essay misses the point. As long as the clearinghouse is the direct product of an arm of the U.S. Department of Education, it will be fundamentally flawed. While the department serves many important regulatory and policy functions, it is part of the executive branch of our government and thus a partisan political entity.

As a political entity, the Education Department and its various offices and divisions should not be in the business of evaluating educational research at all. Let’s get back to the “good old days,” when we vetted our own research and depended on scholars of merit (such as Mr. Slavin) to guide our efforts to evaluate best practices. A government-operated agency that evaluates research will never get it completely right.

David W. Peterson

Co-Director

Fed Ed

Northbrook, Ill.

A version of this article appeared in the January 16, 2008 edition of Education Week as Can Government Ever Judge Research Well?

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: March 13, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read