The Broad Foundation is putting a lot of money, $44 million, actually, into an effort to try to test, in a conclusive way, some educational ideas
…the research is intended to infuse education with the data-driven approach that is common in science and business, Dr. Fryer said. He compared the current methods of educational research to the prescriptions of an ineffective doctor.
“If the doctor said to you, ‘You have a cold; here are three pills my buddy in Charlotte uses and he says they work,’ you would run out and find another doctor,” Dr. Fryer said. “Somehow, in education, that approach is O.K.”
This sounds great, and much needed. It would be great to move beyond the “this is how we done it good” approach, all too common in the field.
But you’ll see that the main push appears to be toward testing financial incentives for grades.
In its first year, the research group plans to focus on incentive programs, including controversial ideas like giving students cash for good test scores, an approach that Dr. Fryer has tested in New York since June 2007.
And so this effort begins to look less like “science” and more like trying to “prove” an already fondly-held notion!
Read the whole thing: New Effort Aims to Test Theories of Education