493 DOI: 10.1037/XXXXX.XXX APA Educational Psychology Handbook: Vol. 1. Theories, Constructs, and Critical Issues, K. R. Harris, S. Graham, and T. Urdan (Editors-in-Chief) Copyright © 2012 by the American Psychological Association. All rights reserved. C HAPTER 17 EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES IN EDUCATION Bryan G. Cook, Garnett J. Smith, and Melody Tankersley Although a variety of reasons have been posited for the predictable failure of school reforms (see Sara- son, 1993), educators have suggested that the gap between research and practice may play a primary role in disappointing student outcomes (e.g., Car- nine, 1997). Quite simply, the research–practice gap refers to the disparity between the findings of scien- tific research on effective educational practices and what actually occurs in schools and classrooms (Por- ter & McMaken, 2009; The Wing Institute, 2009). For example, Kauffman (1996) suggested that many practices shown by research to be effective are infre- quently used in classrooms, whereas teachers often utilize practices that have been shown to have little or no positive impact on student performance. Yet, it stands to reason that implementing the most effec- tive practices and programs as a matter of course is a precondition for broadly improving student achieve- ment and meeting performance standards, especially for students at risk for school failure. To bridge the research–practice gap, educators have focused recently on identifying, promoting, and implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs): instructional approaches shown by high-quality research to result reliably in generally improved stu- dent outcomes. Although the use of EBPs in educa- tion appears to hold great promise (e.g., Slavin, 2002, 2008a) and may at first blush appear to be a straightforward enterprise, the devil is in the details (Miller, Drill, & Behrstock, 2010; Odom et al., 2005) and involves a host of potentially problematic issues (e.g., What types of research designs are rele- vant? How many research studies are needed? How should methodological quality be assessed? and How generalizable are research findings?). To be sure, virtually every aspect of evidence-based reforms in education involves issues on which edu- cators disagree. Moreover, many scholars and practi- tioners have expressed considerable resistance to the basic notion of practice being based on research (cf. American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 2007; Jackson & Bruegmann, 2009). In this chapter, we explore prominent issues related to identifying and implementing EBPs in edu- cation. We first describe the general context for evi- dence-based reforms in education. To clarify the meaning of EBPs, we then briefly define terms fre- quently used in education for recommended practice. In education, . . . [m]yth and reality are not clearly differentiated, and we frequently prefer the former to the latter. . . . We have been innocents in education because we have not put our house in order. We need to be much clearer about what we do and do not know so that we don’t continually confuse the two. If I could have one wish for education . . . it would be the systematic ordering of our basic knowledge in such a way that what is known and true can be acted on, while what is superstition, fad, and myth can be recognized as such and used when there is nothing else to support us in our frustration and despair. (Bloom, as cited in Sloane, 2008, p. 42) APA-HARRIS_V1-11-0301-017.indd 493 APA-HARRIS_V1-11-0301-017.indd 493 4/25/11 6:55:38 PM 4/25/11 6:55:38 PM