Impact evaluation plays a critical role in determining whether federally funded research programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are wise investments. This paper develops quantitative methods for program evaluation and applies this approach to a flagship National Science Foundation-funded education research program, Research…

Describes a Committee on Basic Research in Education that was formed in 1968 and that worked for four years in cooperation with the U. S. Office of Education to identify problems to be attacked by basic research in education and to develop and try out plans and procedures for stimulating and supporting such research. (Author/JM)

Evaluates the activities of the Committee on Basic Research in Education (COBRE), pointing out that its work was based on the premises that basic research is oriented to the academic disciplines, that its outcomes are scientific knowledge as opposed to products or solutions, and that its outcomes are unpredictable. (Author/JM)

Argues that student achievement cannot be improved unless teachers can implement effective instructional methods. Presents recommendations for using federal and state policy levers to change classroom practices by empowering school staff to participate in reform decisions; for funding of program evaluation and schools tied to adopting effective…