At the Evidence Resource Center, we aim to help Pennsylvania’s school communities thoughtfully apply high-quality, relevant research to their own settings. Explore these topics to brush up on research basics, ESSA tiers, and the fundamentals of evidence-based decision making.
The ERC has a detailed and specific process for reviewing evidence in support of educational strategies. We use nationally recognized standards, document our findings, and consult with research organizations so we can suggest ESSA tiers for outcomes studied. Take a look at our protocols and process:
The ESSA tiers of evidence are closely aligned to the standards of the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), an investment of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) within the U.S. Department of Education. In fact, outcomes only qualify for ESSA tiers 1 and 2 if they meet WWC standards (with, or without reservations, respectively). The WWC standards are updated periodically and can be browsed by the public on the IES website:
To stay closely aligned to the non-regulatory guidance for ESSA, the ERC relies on evidence reviews against the standards of the WWC to assign suggested ESSA tiers and populate our clearinghouse. Reviews of research studies against these standards may be conducted by What Works Clearinghouse itself, or by other professional research organizations. Per our research process, those organizations help determine if the study meets WWC standards, and also determine the ESSA tiers of the study outcomes.
For reviews of studies by What Works Clearinghouse-certified reviewers and for ESSA tier verifications, the ERC contracts with American Institutes for Research (AIR), one of the world's largest behavioral and social science research and technical assistance organizations and a leader in ESSA-related resources and professional development.
To use resources efficiently, if another professional, independent research organization has assigned a WWC rating and an ESSA tier to an outcome for an educational strategy, the ERC may publish that rating without conducting our own separate review.
The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) produces practice guides that summarize evidence and make recommendations for improving outcomes in specific topic areas.Navigating WWC Practice Guides
Are you interested in becoming a WWC-certified reviewer? Online training and a formalized certification course are available from WWC.WWC Group Design Standards Online Training
