Finding Out What Works in Education

In 2002, the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) established the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) to provide educators, policymakers, researchers, and the public with a central and trusted source of scientific evidence of what works in education. The WWC collects, reviews, and reports on studies of education programs, products, practices, and policies in selected topic areas, using a set of standards based on scientifically valid criteria.

Mathematica's $50 million, 5-year contract to administer the next generation of the WWC is putting more high-quality research and interpretive products into the hands of decision makers. The No Child Left Behind Act, with its focus on using high-quality scientifically based research to inform education decisions, has heightened the demand for the type of information produced by the WWC.

Mathematica assembled a multi-tiered team of research partners to bring wide-ranging depth and expertise to bear on the WWC's ambitious set of new products. The initiative is also tackling special education research, developing practice guides to provide expert advice to educators based on research findings, examining implementation and costs of effective interventions, and providing training and support to other organizations that want to use WWC standards for research reviews.

Read more about our efforts to bring answers to educators and practitioners.

Mathematica's partners in the project include Analytica, Chesapeake Research Associates, Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, CommunicationWorks, Empirical Education, Inc., Human Resources Research Organization, ICF-Caliber, Optimal Solutions Group, RAND Corporation, RG Research Group, SRI International, Twin Peaks Partners, University of Arkansas, and the University of Wisconsin.

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