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Connecting to Practice

The Focus on Evidence-based Education

Evidence-based education is the core theme underlying REL-NEI’s work. Our free products and services provide stakeholders with research-based evidence they can use to inform their decisions about education policy and practice. The Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands (REL-NEI) is funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences and serves New England, New York, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Our region includes over 5 million students, nearly 10,000 schools and 2,000 districts, from rural settings to New York City.

Research, Policy, and Practice

REL-NEI’s mission is to help preK-16 educators — at the state, district, and school levels — use the best available evidence to make decisions leading to improved student achievement and reduced performance gaps. Our charge is to conduct rigorous research that is relevant for our regional stakeholders and responsive to their needs. But the additional value we can add to this work lies in the connections between this research and the policies and practices that are being considered or implemented in the field and across our region.

REL-NEI has received specific requests from regional stakeholders to provide assistance in developing the capacity of decision-makers to make better use of available research.

Consumers of Research: Research in Real Life

Learn how real people in real educational settings and roles have used our research to make important decisions for their students and constituents.

We look forward to hearing about your experiences, stories, questions, and concerns regarding using research to build on and improve the educational opportunities in your setting. To submit a suggestion or a question, email us at the REL at relneiinfo@edc.org.