OPINION ARTICLE Education research is still the hardest science: a proposal for improving its trustworthiness and usability [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review] Gustavo Fischman , Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, Stephanie McBride-Schreiner Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1611, USA Corresponding author: Gustavo Fischman (fischman@asu.edu) Author roles: Fischman G: Conceptualization, Writing – Original Draft Preparation, Writing – Review & Editing; Amrein-Beardsley A: Conceptualization, Writing – Review & Editing; McBride-Schreiner S: Conceptualization, Writing – Review & Editing Competing interests: No competing interests were disclosed. Grant information: The author(s) declared that no grants were involved in supporting this work. Copyright: © 2022 Fischman G et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. How to cite this article: Fischman G, Amrein-Beardsley A and McBride-Schreiner S. Education research is still the hardest science: a proposal for improving its trustworthiness and usability [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review] F1000Research 2022, 11 :230 https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.109700.1 First published: 24 Feb 2022, 11:230 https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.109700.1 First published: 24 Feb 2022, 11:230 https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.109700.1 Latest published: 24 Feb 2022, 11:230 https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.109700.1 v1 Abstract In this essay, we argue that colleges of education, particularly those at research-intensive institutions, favor simplistic notions of scholarly impact and that this trend has concerning implications for the field, for researchers, and for the public at large. After describing the challenges and shortcomings of the current models of research assessment in education, we outline an alternative proposal in which trustworthiness and usability of research would complement traditional metrics of scholarly relevance. This proposal encourages a twofold approach to research assessment that involves (1) a more thorough analysis of the limitations and problems generated by the use of simplistic notions of scholarly impact, and (2) a commitment to the implementation of more equitable systems based on a broader range of assessment measures to assess faculty research contributions. Keywords colleges of education; research impact; research assessment Open Peer Review Approval Status AWAITING PEER REVIEW Any reports and responses or comments on the article can be found at the end of the article. Page 1 of 9 F1000Research 2022, 11:230 Last updated: 28 FEB 2022