SEDL CEO Testifies Before Congress
March 29, 2004
Austin, TX
Contact:
Leslie Blair
Communications Associate
Phone: 800-476-6861, ext. 205
E-mail: lblair@sedl.org
"Given that more than 25,000 U.S. public schools are not making adequate yearly progress under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, steps must be taken now to ensure that research-based education solutions are used in the classroom," SEDL President and CEO Wes Hoover said in testimony to Congress on March 23.
Hoover said the federally supported Regional Educational Labs, Research and Development Centers, Regional Technology in Education Consortia, Eisenhower Regional Math and Science Education Consortia, Comprehensive Assistance Centers, and national clearinghouses are uniquely positioned "to meet the tremendous needs for evidenced-based practices to implement No Child Left Behind and the Education Sciences Reform Act, and of course, ultimately, to help all children succeed."
Hoover urged Congress to enhance and expand—not cut or dismantle—the federal system of education research, development, dissemination, and technical assistance.
Hoover emphasized that system has historically been under funded and it simply does not have the resources to meet current demand. He noted that education is a $745 billion industry representing an estimated 7.2 percent of the gross domestic product. "However only three cents for every hundred dollars is spent on education research and development," he said.
Increased investments in education research, development, and dissemination would help meet the current mandate for implementing research-based practices in the classroom and would address a number of high priorities such as
- improving teacher quality by providing research-based information on best practices to teacher training institutions as well as informational and technical assistance to schools and districts implementing professional development programs · helping special populations of students meet state adequate yearly progress goals;
- working with educators to interpret and manage a variety of data about student performance and classroom instruction; and
- scaling up school improvement efforts at the local level so reform efforts in single schools can expand to district-wide initiatives.
Hoover testified to the U.S. House of Representatives' Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations on behalf of members of the National Education Knowledge Industry Association (NEKIA). He is the current NEKIA board chair.
About SEDL
The Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) is a nonprofit corporation based in Austin, Texas. SEDL is dedicated to solving significant education problems and improving teaching and learning through research, research-based resources, and professional development. For more information about SEDL, visit
http://www.sedl.org/about/.