The National Academy of Education is dedicated to advancing the highest quality education research. The Research Advisory Committee (RAC), charged with setting the research agenda for the organization, is instrumental in identifying and developing new research program ideas, and in providing guidance to projects in their early stages of development.

Please contact Amy Berman for research initiative inquiries.

Current Initiatives

Methods and Policy Uses of International Large-Scale Assessments 

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Although there is widespread recognition that ILSAs can provide useful information, there is debate about what types of comparisons are the most meaningful and what could be done to assure more sound interpretations. To address these issues, the National Academy of Education (NAEd) assembled a Steering Committee to examine the future of ILSAs from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. The committee held two workshops, commissioned a series of papers, and has produced a summary report available for download.

Reaping the Rewards of the IES Reading for Understanding (RFU) Initiative

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The IES awarded the NAEd a three-year grant to develop insights and implications concerning the RFU initiative. The purpose of this project is to follow through on the promise of the RFU to make sure that what has been learned from this effort continues to benefit education research and practice. The committee will produce a report, which based on proceedings of the meetings and papers commissioned by the committee, will provide a foundation for subsequent publications (and possibly other products) highlighting usable findings from across the projects.

Study on Comparability of Large-Scale Educational Assessments

Contact Amy Berman for more information.

In March 2018, the NAEd began a project funded by Smarter Balanced/University of California Santa Cruz to examine Common Core assessment consortia and other large-scale assessment programs regarding how much and what types of flexibility in assessment content and procedures can be allowed, while maintaining comparability across jurisdictions and student populations. The project is planned as an 18-month study that will include 8-10 white papers addressing comparability issues across jurisdictions and student populations, as well as a synthesis paper of suggestions made in the commissioned papers.

The Role of Education Research and Practice in Civic Discourse and Reasoning

Contact Greg White for more information.

The NAEd has recently convened a committee to develop a proposal on civic reasoning and debate. The committee is chaired by Carol Lee, and its members include: James Banks, Sarah Freedman, Na’ilah Nasir, Walter Parker, Judith Torney-Purta.

Workshop and Edited Volume with the American Academy of Political and Social Science (AAPSS) The Annals: Educational Assessment as Useful and Useable Evidence

Contact Amy Berman for more information.

The NAEd and AAPSS have agreed to hold a workshop focused on assessment issues that will culminate in an edition of the AAPSS The Annals. The workshop aims to provide an updated account of the status of testing in American schools, with attention to key policy, organizational, and technological developments, as a foundation for improved policy thinking in the decades ahead.  The topics include: (1) tensions of American pluralism and the national ethos; (2) tensions between efficiency and equity; (3) tensions caused by testing used for multiple purposes; and (4) tensions between the sciences of cognition and human development and the science of measurement. Michael Feuer and Jim Pellegrino will chair the conference and along with Amy Berman will co-edit The Annals.