NAEd Education Policy White Papers Initiative

The National Academy of Education (NAEd) is launching an initiative to connect policymakers in a new administration and Congress with the best available evidence on selected education policy issues. The project is designed to help policymakers better understand key education issues and to strengthen their ability to formulate effective policies. Over the course of the spring and summer, working groups composed of the nation’s top education researchers will gather information and develop education policy white papers that address issues related to: teacher quality, standards and assessments, time for learning, math and science education, reading and literacy education, and equity and excellence in American education. The findings from these white papers will then be presented after the election in a major public event co-hosted by the NAEd and the NRC. Lauren Resnick is serving as chair of the Steering Committee for the initiative.

The goals of the proposed project are to:
- Enable policy makers to craft specific programs and practices that are informed by the best available research evidence,
- Spur creative thinking about policy options and their consequences, and
- Connect the academic community to the worlds of policy and practice.

The Steering Committee for the project has been appointed and includes the following members:

- Lauren Resnick (Chair)
- Richard Atkinson
- Robert Floden
- Susan Fuhrman
- Eric Hanushek
- Gloria Ladson-Billings
- Michael Feuer (Ex-Officio)
- Marc Lampkin (Ex-Officio)
- Roy Romer (Ex-Officio)
- Lorrie Shepard (Ex-Officio)

The Steering Committee held its first in-person meeting on March 17, 2008, in Washington, DC and convened a second meeting, with the chairs of the working groups on March 24, 2008, in New York City. The following individuals have agreed to chair or co-chair the working groups:
- Equity and Excellence: Robert Hauser
- Math and Science Education: Jeremy Kilpatrick and Helen Quinn
- Reading and Literacy: Richard Anderson
- Teacher Quality: Suzanne Wilson
- Standards and Assessments: Jane Hannaway and Eva Baker
- Time for Learning: Brian Rowan