It is common that laws proposed or passed to requiring services for dyslexic students or training for teachers will also include provisions requiring or encouraging the use of “evidence-based” practices. In many cases, the laws will also encourage or mandate the use of specific types of interventions over others — and often the mandated interventions simply do not have a strong or significant base of evidentiary support.
This mismatch between statutory requirements and actual reported research data can lead to laws that do more harm than good, by limiting options for continued innovation, research and development, and by running counter to the goals of structuring individualized education plans targeted to a student’s specific needs.
The resources in this section are geared to providing objective information about the level of quantitative, data-driven research which may or may not support specific interventions or curriculums that are often requested or implemented in U.S. schools.
Dyslegia Site Reports & Position Statements
Evidence-Based Practice: Research Resources
Links to Useful Sites (Outside Sites)
The sites listed here provided reliable, neutral information about educational research and evidence.
- Academic Intervention Tools Chart-
From the National Center on Intensive Intervention. This tools chart presents information about research supporting academic intervention programs.
- Best Evidence Encyclopedia-
The Best Evidence Encyclopedia is a free web site created by the Johns Hopkins University School of Education's Center for Data-Driven Reform in Education (CDDRE).
- Evidence for ESSA-
Your new standard for the most up-to-date and reliable information on programs that meet evidence standards under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
- Institution of Education Sciences - What Works Clearinghouse-
The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) is managed by the US Department of Education and reviews existing research on different programs, products, practices, and policies in education.
- Iris Center: Evidence-Based Practice Summaries-
These research summaries covering instructional strategies and interventions offer information that includes level of effectiveness as well as the age groups for which a given strategy or intervention is designed. Links to the original reports are also provided for those who might wish to explore further.
- National Center on Intensive Intervention Chart-
This tools chart presents information about academic intervention programs and includes information and ratings on the technical rigor of the studies.
