Recommended links
Academic/Researchers
Clicking on a link below will take you to the organization's web site.
The Alliance for Excellent Education is a Washington, DC-based national policy and advocacy organization that works to improve national and federal policy so that all students can achieve at high academic levels and graduate from high school ready for success in college, work, and citizenship in the twenty-first century. The Alliance focuses on America's six million most at-risk secondary school students — those in the lowest achievement quartile — who are most likely to leave school without a diploma or to graduate unprepared for a productive future.
The American Educational Research Association is concerned with improving the educational process by encouraging scholarly inquiry related to education and by promoting the dissemination and practical application of research results.
The American Institutes for Research (AIR) is one of the largest behavioral and social science research organizations in the world. Their overriding goal is to use the best science available to bring the most effective ideas and approaches to enhancing everyday life.
ASCD, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development is an international, nonprofit, nonpartisan education association committed to the mission of forging covenants in teaching and learning for the success of all learners. Founded in 1943, ASCD provides professional development in curriculum and supervision; initiates and supports activities to provide educational equity for all students; and serves as a world-class leader in education information services.
CAST is a nonprofit research and development organization that works to expand learning opportunities for all individuals, especially those with disabilities, through Universal Design for Learning. Founded in 1984 as the Center for Applied Special Technology, CAST has earned international recognition for its innovative contributions to educational products, classroom practices, and policies. Its staff includes specialists in education research and policy, neuropsychology, clinical/school psychology, technology, engineering, curriculum development, K-12 professional development, and more.
This research center, funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education, has a five-year contract, beginning in 2005, to conduct a program of research designed to address specific challenges in the education of English language learners in grades 4-8.
The model that underlies CIERA's research efforts acknowledges many influences on children's reading acquisition: readers and texts, home and school, and policy and profession. CIERA's task goes beyond finding answers to persistent problems in reading through research to disseminating those solutions to people who impact children's early reading achievement: teachers, teacher educators, parents, policymakers, and others.
The University of Texas Health Science Center's Children's Learning Institute combines data and studies from the fields of psychology, neuro-development, education and child development to provide proven learning solutions derived from, and supported by, documented research.
A state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers, the Common Core State Standards provide a consistent framework to prepare children for college and the workforce by defining the knowledge and skills students should have in their K-12 education in order to succeed.
CONNECT is developing web-based, instructional resources for faculty and other professional development providers that focus on and respond to challenges faced each day by those working with young children with disabilities and their families. The modules help build practitioners’ abilities to make evidence-based decisions.
Edutopia offers teaching and learning resources for teachers and students that inspire collaboration, critical thinking, and communication. Edutopia's mission is to transform the learning process by helping educators implement six core learning strategies, including project-based learning and technology integration.
The Florida Center for Reading Research conducts basic research on reading, reading growth, reading assessment, and reading instruction;disseminates information about research-based practices related to literacy instruction and assessment for children in pre-school through 12th grade; and conducts applied research that will have an immediate impact on policy and practices related to literacy instruction in Florida.
The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) is an international organization that concerns itself with the complex issues of dyslexia. The IDA membership consists of a variety of professionals in partnership with people with dyslexia and their families. The IDA actively promotes effective teaching approaches and related clinical educational intervention strategies for people with dyslexia. We support and encourage interdisciplinary research. We facilitate the exploration of the causes and early identification of dyslexia and are committed to the responsible and wide dissemination of research based knowledge.
The International Literacy Association is a professional membership organization dedicated to promoting high levels of literacy for all by improving the quality of reading instruction, disseminating research and information about reading, and encouraging the lifetime reading habit. ILA members include classroom teachers, reading specialists, consultants, administrators, supervisors, university faculty, researchers, psychologists, librarians, media specialists, and parents.
The IRIS Center creates free training enhancement resources for college faculty who are preparing the next generation of school personnel and for professional development providers who are training current school professionals. IRIS training enhancements are designed to equip school personnel with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively teach students with disabilities in general education classrooms. Materials includes online interactive modules, case studies, information briefs, activities, and a searchable directory of disability-related websites.
The Knowledge Matters Campaign is an advocacy initiative focused on the critical role of knowledge-building. It’s time to restore history, science, geography, art, music, and more to the education we give to all students, especially those least likely to gain such knowledge outside school. Greater comprehension, critical thinking, curiosity, and equality will be our reward. Educators need to devote more time to building vocabulary and knowledge in science, social studies, and the arts — starting in early childhood. Policymakers need to create incentives for districts and schools to make long-term investments in building academic knowledge. Parents need to demand a well-rounded education and read aloud, visit museums, and discuss current events with their children.
LD OnLine is the leading web resource on learning disabilities and ADHD for parents, teachers, and other professionals. The award-winning service offers the latest information on issues such as ADHD, special education, assessment, adult issues, and much more. Special features include Q&A's with leading practitioners, such as Richard Lavoie and Larry Silver, active bulletin boards, and a kid's area.
The Alliance organizations represent more than 10 million individuals engaged in providing, governing, and improving America's public schools at the local, state, and national levels. The Alliance is dedicated to helping those institutions and people who provide and govern public education work together to find the best way to respond to local challenges. The Alliance will strive to deliver a common message to all parts of the education system, align priorities, share and disseminate success stories, encourage collaboration at every level, and work toward long-term systemic change based on solid research evidence.
Literate Nation is a nonprofit call to action movement begun by a group of citizens, educators, and scientists. The organization's vision is to create an accessible, highly informed, broad-based platform for literacy leadership that will provide the U.S. with the most comprehensive, cross-disciplinary resources and strategic initiatives available to propel the systemic changes needed for a fully literate nation.
NCES is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data that are related to education in the United States and other nations.
The National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest) is an advocacy organization working to end the abuses, misuses and flaws of standardized testing and ensure that evaluation of students and workers is fair, open, and educationally sound.
The NCRECE conducts research, disseminates research findings, and conducts leadership activities aimed at improving the quality of early childhood education across the United States. The center will conduct a professional development study, a randomized controlled evaluation, of the effects of two forms of teacher training. It will also conduct fast response studies to address immediate needs of policymakers.
The National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTI) advances learning opportunities for individuals with disabilities by fostering technology innovation. NCTI helps researchers, product developers, manufacturers, and publishers to create and commercialize products of value to students with special needs.
For learners with sensory, physical, cognitive, or learning differences and their teachers, accessible educational materials (AEM) may open doors to teaching and learning that ordinary print-based materials have closed. Accessible educational materials or AEM are specialized formats of curricular content that can be used by and with students who are unable to read or use standard print materials. Specialized formats include braille, audio, large print, and digital text. The AEM Center serves as a resource for stakeholders, including state- and district-level educators, parents, students, publishers, conversion houses, accessible media producers, and others interested in learning more about AEM and implementing AEM and he National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS). The Center is part of CAST: National Center on Universal Design for Learning.
The National Center on Improving Literacy (NCIL) is a partnership among literacy experts, university researchers, and technical assistance providers, with funding from the United States Department of Education. The center's mission is to increase access to, and use of, evidence-based approaches to screen, identify, and teach students with literacy-related disabilities, including dyslexia.
The NGA Center for Best Practices supports governors in their efforts to improve education by providing technical assistance, policy analysis and reports, and information on best practices.
The NICHD supports research that specifies the experiences children need from birth to age eight to help them learn to read and ultimately succeed in school. The Child Development and Behavior Branch of the Center for Research for Mothers and Children includes the Early Learning and School Readiness Program, which integrates basic and applied research on early learning and development. Information about the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development and the Early Child Care Research Network also can be found on the website.
The National Mentoring Center is a project of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. The NMC, now in its fourth year of operation, is one of the preeminent national training and technical assistance providers for mentoring programs across the United States.
NRC is a professional organization for individuals who share an interest in research and the dissemination of information about literacy and literacy instruction.
In 1997, Congress asked the Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at the National Institutes of Health, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, to convene a national panel to assess the effectiveness of different approaches used to teach children to read.
The Early Education Initiative seeks to promote a high-quality and continuous system of early care and education for children from birth to age 8. The Early Education Initiative seeks to promote a high-quality and continuous system of early care and education for all children, birth to age 8. It is an initiative of the New America Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute.
The North Central Regional Educational Laboratory is a wholly owned subsidiary of Learning Point Associates. As a member of the Regional Educational Laboratory Network, NCREL is dedicated to providing high-quality, research-based resources to educators and policymakers in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
The Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory provides research and development assistance to education, government, community, business, and labor agencies. NWREL's primary service area is the Northwest states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.
Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation that serves the educational community in the U.S.-affiliated Pacific islands, the continental United States, and countries throughout the world. PREL bridges the gap between research, theory, and practice in education and works collaboratively with schools and school systems to provide services that range from curriculum development to assessment and evaluation.
The Partnership for Reading website offers a database containing abstracts of approximately 460 research studies related to the teaching of reading in grades K-3. These studies have met high standards of research. Browse through the abstracts by category (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, text comprehension, computer instruction, and teacher education) or search for a topic or author of interest.
Teaching Diverse Learners is a resource dedicated to enhancing the capacity of teachers to work effectively and equitably with English language learners (ELLs). This site provides access to information — publications, educational materials, and the work of experts in the field — that promotes high achievement for ELLs.
The Campaign is a collaborative effort by foundations, nonprofit partners, states, and communities across the nation to ensure that more children in low-income families succeed in school and graduate prepared for college, a career, and active citizenship. The Campaign focuses on the most important predictor of school success and high school graduation — grade-level reading by the end of third grade.
The mission of the U. S. Department of Education is to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence for all Americans. The Department WebSite includes information on funding, research, publications, and programs.
A nonprofit research, development, and service agency, WestEd strives to enhance and increase education and human development within schools, families, and communities.