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Recommended
Reading
The Schools We Need and Why We Don't Have Them
by E.D. Hirsch  Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms by Diane Ravitch  Ed School Follies by Rita Kramer  Dumbing Down Our Kids by Charles Sykes  The Language Police by Diane Ravitch  Why Johnny Can't Read and Why Johnny Still Can't Read by Rudolf Flesch  Angry Parents, Failing Schools by Elaine McEwan 
by Richard Phelps
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- Evidence and Research in
- the Field of Education
Those who question classroom practices are familiar with the favorite, but misleading, refrain "research has shown..." Next time an educator tries to silence you with claims of research, ask to see it. If they are able to produce anything, it is usually opinion or anecdote, rather than the data-driven experimental research we would expect. Instead of accepting claims of "research", we must begin to demand evidence of the kind expected in the field of medicine.
In fact, evidence is available. And what it shows is that student achievement is increased by traditional style teaching, with teacher directed classrooms rich in content and discipline, rather than the too-familiar "progressive" "child-centered" classroom dominated by whole language and fuzzy math curricula. Read more about teaching methods that work, and those that don't, on the Educational Philosophy and Pedagogy page.
Evidence and Research Evidence Matters From the newsletter Education Next, an advocate of Evidence Based Education
What Does it Mean to be a Research-Based Profession? By Bonnie Grossen
Why Education Experts Resist Effective Practices By Douglas Carnine - excellent general article
A Manifesto for Evidence Based Education
Scientifically Based Research—U.S. Department of Education President Bush thinks this is a good idea
