Faculty Expert
A new pair of reports released by the Future of Evidence in Education Network offers a roadmap for strengthening the nation's education research and development system while helping policymakers, district leaders, and educators better interpret and apply research evidence in their decision-making.
Among the contributors to the effort is A. Brooks Bowden, associate professor at Penn GSE. Also, the director of the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education, Bowden’s research focuses on the costs, benefits, and effectiveness of education interventions. Bowden joined researchers, evaluators, and evidence leaders from across the country in examining how education can build a stronger system for generating and using knowledge at a time when schools face growing academic challenges and increasing pressure to invest limited resources wisely.
The reports arrive at a consequential moment for education. National assessments continue to reveal significant learning challenges, while school districts are being asked to evaluate a growing array of programs, products, and emerging technologies that promise to improve student outcomes. At the same time, questions about the future of federal support for education research have heightened interest in how high-quality evidence is produced, reviewed, and used.
"Education leaders are making incredibly important decisions that affect students' opportunities and futures, which have long term consequences for our economy," said Bowden. "For over 25 years, the Institute of Education Sciences and the U.S. government has provided leadership, set high expectations, and invested in the education evidence ecosystem to support efficient policymaking in education. We are at a pivotal moment regarding the federal role in this system, with opportunities to chart a path forward for the next 25 years. These new reports underscore the importance of expecting evidence to identify what is working and what is not working, as well as what we can do going forward to strengthen the system of evidence."
The Future of Evidence in Education Network was formed to explore how education can preserve important gains made over the past two decades while creating a more durable and useful research ecosystem. Federal investments have helped establish stronger standards for causal research, expand research capacity, build national data systems, and strengthen partnerships between researchers and practitioners. Together, those efforts have improved the field's ability to identify programs and policies that improve student outcomes.
The Network's inaugural reports address two related challenges. The first, Necessary but Not Sufficient: Six Design Principles for a Stronger Education R&D System, examines the broader infrastructure needed to support high-quality education research. The report argues that while rigorous individual studies remain essential, education leaders also need a system that produces cumulative, transparent, and decision-relevant knowledge over time. It outlines six principles for strengthening research institutions, investments, partnerships, and practices.
The companion report, Evaluating Causal Evidence in Education: A Practical Guide, focuses on helping leaders interpret research findings when making decisions about programs, policies, products, and emerging technologies. Rather than offering simple ratings of "what works," the guide encourages decisionmakers to ask deeper questions about implementation, effectiveness, context, and the applicability of findings to their own settings.
Together, the reports seek to move the conversation beyond whether an intervention showed positive results in a single study. Instead, they emphasize the importance of understanding the broader body of evidence and building a research ecosystem capable of generating knowledge that is useful in real-world educational settings.
The Network is also releasing a response to proposed revisions to the U.S. Department of Education's Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR), which include potential changes to federal evidence definitions. While the reports were developed independently of the proposal, the discussion underscores the importance of maintaining rigorous, transparent standards for producing and reviewing education research.
The reports debuted this week at the 2026 Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (SREE) Conference in Baltimore. The Future of Evidence in Education Network grew out of a 2025 convening of researchers, evaluators, and evidence leaders supported by the Spencer Foundation.
For Bowden, the effort reflects a shared commitment to ensuring that education research serves the people who rely on it most.
"Research has the greatest impact when it addresses real problems," she said. "The ultimate goal is to ensure that schools, districts, and policymakers have access to evidence they can trust and use to improve outcomes for students."
The reports and additional information about the Future of Evidence in Education Network are available through the Network's website.
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