Modern medical practice is based on years of methodical research. Health professionals own a set of shared criteria for recognizing illness and common standards for treating disease. They employ reliable diagnostic tests and prescribe treatments validated over time. Products and techniques are honed through on-going research, development, evaluation and dissemination. Few patients today would accept a physician who ignores scientific research or fails to keep abreast of change.

But what happens in our schools? In the name of autonomy, teachers are encouraged to develop individual instructional strategies and curriculum resources. They function in an environment with little consensus on standards of student achievement and limited external feedback on performance. Professional development is highly discretionary. As a result, some educators move from fad to fad, without a scientific knowledge base to inform their practice. While celebrating the art of teaching, we might also wish for more science.

Expert teachers identify, respect and apply the findings of scientific research to their practice. They discover which approaches have proven most effective over time and under what conditions they will succeed. They make choices based on knowledge of proven materials and methods, applying them artfully as they diagnose each learning situation.

Proactive administrators find familiarity with school improvement and classroom effectiveness research is essential. A school leader must be an educational strategist, determining which of many possible approaches will yield the most benefits for students in that school. A rich understanding of research helps select options with high reliability that will reinforce one another to boost student achievement.

Policymakers find research increasingly necessary to guide their decisions. In the new era of accountability, governments and school boards face the need to allocate scarce resources more efficiently to demonstrate greater student success. Internal and external evaluation of change initiatives will become essential feedback for planning next steps.

In the new millennium, education research will be a priority. A shared commitment to research can increase every school’s success. Our students deserve no less.

A shared commitment to research can increase every school’s success.