Friday, February 19, 2021

National Education Policy Center Criticizes RAND for Overstating Results of Study of Online Learning | Diane Ravitch's blog

National Education Policy Center Criticizes RAND for Overstating Results of Study of Online Learning

National Education Policy Center Criticizes RAND for Overstating Results of Study of Online Learning



The National Education Policy Center frequently engages researchers to review studies, reports, and evaluations. NEPC recently released a review of a RAND study that looks at online learning and whether it deserves federal funding. The title of the RAND report is “Remote Learning is Here to Stay,” but the body of the report does not support that conclusion, according to reviewer David R. Garcia of Arizona State University.

Garcia summarizes his review:

The RAND Corporation recently released a report based on a national survey of school district superintendents and charter management organization (CMO) directors (or their designees) about their experiences navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey asks non-biased questions about how school districts and charter schools have responded to the pandemic and about their greatest educational needs. But some issues arise with the report’s reporting of results and with one of its two recommendations. The report is curiously titled, Remote Learning is Here to Stay, but that headline is surprisingly unsupported by the sur- vey responses. In fact, the CONTINUE READING: National Education Policy Center Criticizes RAND for Overstating Results of Study of Online Learning