NCLB Scientifically Based Research 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Critics argued that NCLB's emphasis on scientifically based research favored which type of study design, potentially limiting educational innovation?
- Longitudinal ethnographic studies
- Randomized controlled trials modeled after medical research (Correct answer)
- Large-scale surveys of student attitudes
- Descriptive case studies of successful schools
Correct answer: Randomized controlled trials modeled after medical research
Critics contended that privileging randomized controlled trials — borrowed from medicine — was difficult to implement in schools and may have excluded valuable qualitative evidence.
Question 2: Under NCLB, if a scientifically based research study was conducted entirely in suburban schools, a district serving rural students should:
- Still adopt the program because federal approval is universal
- Consider whether the findings generalize to rural contexts before adopting the program (Correct answer)
- Reject the program automatically because replication outside suburbs is required
- Request a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education
Correct answer: Consider whether the findings generalize to rural contexts before adopting the program
Generalizability — whether findings apply to different populations or settings — is an important consideration when implementing research-based programs.
Question 3: Which scenario best illustrates a 'comparison group' as required under NCLB's scientifically based research standard?
- Students in the program are compared to their own scores from the previous year
- Students receiving the intervention are compared to similar students who did not receive it (Correct answer)
- High-achieving students in the program are compared to low-achieving students in the same program
- Student scores are compared to national average scores from five years ago
Correct answer: Students receiving the intervention are compared to similar students who did not receive it
A proper comparison group consists of students with similar characteristics who do not receive the intervention, isolating the program's effect.
Question 4: NCLB required that scientifically based research findings be 'accepted by a peer-reviewed journal OR approved by a panel of independent experts.' This dual pathway was designed to:
- Allow faster approval for vendor-funded studies
- Provide a rigorous review option when peer-reviewed publication was not yet available (Correct answer)
- Lower the evidence bar for smaller school districts
- Ensure that only university researchers could produce qualifying studies
Correct answer: Provide a rigorous review option when peer-reviewed publication was not yet available
The dual pathway acknowledged that important research might not yet be published but could still undergo rigorous independent expert review.
Question 5: A school implements a discipline program that reduced suspensions in one school. Under NCLB's standards, what additional evidence would most strengthen its classification as scientifically based research?
- A second school in a different region independently replicating the reduction in suspensions (Correct answer)
- Approval from the local school board
- A written endorsement from the original school's principal
- Media coverage of the program's success
Correct answer: A second school in a different region independently replicating the reduction in suspensions
Independent replication across different schools or contexts strengthens a finding's claim to meet NCLB's scientifically based research standard.
Question 6: Under NCLB, the scientifically based research requirement applied most directly to which type of school decision?
- Setting the school day schedule
- Selecting instructional programs and professional development activities funded with federal dollars (Correct answer)
- Hiring and firing of school principals
- Determining attendance zone boundaries
Correct answer: Selecting instructional programs and professional development activities funded with federal dollars
NCLB's evidence requirements focused on instructional programs and professional development funded with federal grants, not administrative or operational decisions.
Question 7: Which of the following statements about the term 'scientifically based research' as used in NCLB is accurate?
- The term appears fewer than five times throughout the entire law
- The term appears more than 100 times throughout the law, signaling its central importance (Correct answer)
- The term is used only in the Reading First section of the law
- The term was added by amendment in 2007 and was not in the original 2002 law
Correct answer: The term appears more than 100 times throughout the law, signaling its central importance
The phrase 'scientifically based research' appears over 100 times in NCLB, reflecting Congress's intent to embed evidence-based practice throughout every major program.
NCLB Scientifically Based Research 5
Critics argued that NCLB's emphasis on scientifically based research favored which type of study design, potentially limiting educational innovation?