In December 2015, Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), replacing No Child Left Behind (NCLB) as the main federal law governing K-12 education. Within the bill are provisions with potentially revolutionary implications for education because they promote the use of federal dollars on programs with evidence of effectiveness. More evidence on what works to increase student success is available now than ever before, and ESSA encourages the use of strategies with evidence of impact.
We believe the ESSA provisions could be a giant step forward in education if they result in greater use of programs and practices with solid evidence of effectiveness.
Why would anyone not want to use a program that increases the likelihood of student success? But widespread implementation will ultimately depend on meeting the demand the new provisions have created for information about programs with evidence of effectiveness.
The question being asked now is: Where do I find these proven programs?
To maximize the impact on practice, educational leaders must have a simple, straightforward way to identify programs and practices that meet the ESSA evidence standards. This website was created to help identify these programs. It provides a free, authoritative, user-centered database to help anyone – school, district, or state leaders, teachers, parents, or concerned citizens – easily find programs and practices that align to the ESSA evidence standards and meet their local needs.
Whether you want to view all programs with evidence in a given category, such as elementary math or secondary reading, or you want to narrow your search to programs that have been evaluated and proven in schools like yours, or you want to know about the evidence for a particular program you have heard about, this website can help you. It identifies for you the level of evidence under ESSA that is associated with a given program, provides you with a snapshot of what the program looks like and costs, identifies the grades, communities, and children included in the program’s evaluations, and points you in the direction of more information about the program, its evaluations, and implementation.
Evidence for ESSA's Mission
Our goal is to provide clear and authoritative information on programs that meet the ESSA evidence standards and enable educators and communities to select effective educational tools to improve student success.
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