Think Twice is one of the nation's first efforts to serve as a watchdog to review think tank research on public education issues and policies, ensuring that published work meets the quality and standards of university scholarship.

The goal of the Think Twice project is to provide the public, policy makers and the press with timely academically sound reviews of selected think tank publications.

The Think Twice project is funded by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice. The reviews that are a part of this project are expert third party reviews produced by the National Education Policy Center (NEPC).

More Think Twice Reviews

The Center funds policy briefs and reports on important education issues. Policy briefs and reports are written by recognized academic experts in each topic and include a summary of existing research available as well as policy recommendations. Briefs published in 2013 include:

Virtual Schools in the U.S. 2013: Politics, Performance, Policy, and Research Evidence
Alex Molnar, University of Colorado Boulder (editor)
Gary Miron, Western Michigan University
Luis Huerta, Teachers College, Columbia University
Jennifer King Rice, University of Maryland
Larry Cuban, Stanford University

Major virtual schools report uncovers underperforming schools: In the last decade, virtual schools have expanded rapidly although there is little data to support their growth. The National Education Policy Center (NEPC), with funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice, released the first of a planned series of annual reports on the performance of virtual schools, the policy issues that virtual schools raise, and the available research evidence on virtual education. Authors urge policymakers to slow or stop the growth of these schools until more research is done and accountability measures can be put into place.

Policy Brief

What Does It Take to Scale Up Innovations? An Examination of Teach For America, Harlem Children’s Zone, and the Knowledge is Power Program
Ben Levin, University of Toronto

What Does It Take to Scale Up Innovations? A new brief investigates whether innovations are scalable and able to make a difference widely, using three commonly proposed innovations as examples. Ben Levin, University of Toronto, analyzes Teach For America (TFA), KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program), and the Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ), which has already spawned the U.S. Department of Education’s Promise Neighborhoods program. Levin determined that there are barriers and opportunities to the scalability of these programs. The brief cautions policymakers to avoid the temptation of proclaiming small-scale innovative programs as solutions to large-scale problems in education.

Policy Brief

Policy Reforms and De-Professionalization of Teaching
H. Richard Milner IV, Vanderbilt University

Policies Undermining Teacher Professionalism

Policy brief finds three education policies, now in vogue, have the likely effect of de-professionalizing teachers and teaching: At the same time that public opinion polls show strong support for teaching as a profession, America’s teachers increasingly feel that teaching is being de-professionalized. The brief, written by Richard Milner of Vanderbilt University, addresses the impact of three of today’s most trendy education polices, (1) policies that evaluate teachers based on annual gains in students’ standardized test scores, (2) fast-track teacher preparation and licensure programs, and (3) the use of narrowly focused curricula. This new brief concludes that those three polices have the likely effect of de-professionalizing teachers and teaching.

Policy Brief

Research-Based Options for Education Policymaking—Public Funding of School Choice
William Mathis, University of Colorado-Boulder

New Brief Calls for Increased Scrutiny of 'Choice' Schools

Dr. William Mathis, managing director of the National Education Policy Center, summarizes current relevant findings in education policy research and describes important issues and questions policymakers should consider in determining public funding of alternatives to conventional public schools. This three-page brief is part of Research-Based Options for Education Policymaking, a multipart brief that takes up a number of important policy issues and identifies policies supported by research.

Policy Brief

Research-Based Options for Education Policymaking—Preschool
William Mathis, University of Colorado-Boulder

New Brief Summarizes Benefits of Universal Preschool

Dr. William Mathis, managing director of the National Education Policy Center, summarizes research findings on the effects of high-quality preschool programs. This three-page brief is part of Research-Based Options for Education Policymaking, a multipart brief that takes up a number of important policy issues and identifies policies supported by research.

Policy Brief

Democracy Left Behind: How Recent Education Reforms Undermine Local School Governance and Democratic Education
Kenneth Howe, University of Colorado-Boulder
David Meens, University of Colorado- Boulder

Kenneth Howe and David Meens, of the University of Colorado at Boulder, examine the suppression of local control by policymakers and what it means for our democracy. A new report presents a comprehensive review of research on two key elements—democratic policymaking and democratic education. The evidence surveyed in this report suggests that contemporary reforms "run afoul of democratic principles in several critical ways."

Policy Brief

Research-Based Options for Education Policymaking—Common Core
William Mathis, University of Colorado-Boulder

Dr. William Mathis, managing director of the National Education Policy Center, summarizes current research findings on the likely effect of the widespread adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). This two-page brief is part of Research-Based Options for Education Policymaking, a multipart brief that takes up a number of important policy issues and identifies policies supported by research.

Policy Brief

Research-Based Options for Education Policymaking—School Turnarounds
Legislative Brief: Tina Trujillo, Michelle Renée
Model Legislation: Tara Kini

School Improvement Grant program in need of reform. A new brief by Tina Truillo of the University of California at Berkeley and Michelle Renée of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University finds that standardized test scores are not a reliable measure for student growth and are even more problematic as a measure of whether a turnaround was successful or not, because test scores ignore social, civic and broader academic aspects of schooling. Model legislation accompanies this brief to create state-level school improvements that foster equitable, democratic, and sustainable school turnarounds in priority schools.

Legislative Brief
Model Legislation

Research-Based Options for Education Policymaking—Teacher Evaluation
William Mathis, University of Colorado-Boulder

Dr. William Mathis, managing director of the National Education Policy Center, summarizes research findings on the effects of teacher evaluation systems, including unintended as well as intended consequences. This two-page brief is part of Research-Based Options for Education Policymaking, a multipart brief that takes up a number of important policy issues and identifies policies supported by research.

Policy Brief

An Analysis of the Use and Validity of Test-Based Teacher Evaluations Reported by the Los Angeles Times: 2011
Catherine S. Durso,University of Denver

Catherine S. Durso of the University of Denver prepared the research brief for the National Education Policy Center. The brief was funded in part by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice.

Policy Brief

Spending by the Major Charter Management Organizations: Comparing Charter School and Local Public District Financial Resources in New York, Ohio, and Texas.
Bruce D. Baker Rutgers University
Ken Libby and Kathryn Wiley, University of Colorado

Bruce Baker of Rutgers University, along with Ken Libby and Katy Wiley of the University of Colorado, prepared the research brief for the National Education Policy Center. The brief was funded in part by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice and the Albert Shanker Institute.

Policy Brief

Charting Equality: Using Charter School Legislation and Policy to Advance Equal Educational Opportunity
Julie F. Mead, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Preston C. Green III, Pennsylvania State University

The expansion of charter schools has led to classrooms being more segregated today than they were 30 years ago, according to this new policy brief. The brief provides policymakers with detailed recommendations on how to ensure all students have access to a quality education.

Accompanying this brief is a companion report which offers model legislation to carry out the author's recommendations contained in the policy brief.

Policy Brief
Model Legislation

Creating Teacher Incentives for School Excellence and Equity
Barnett Berry, Center for Teaching Quality (Policy Brief)
Jon Eckert, Wheaton College (Policy Brief)
Scott R. Bauries, University of Kentucky College of Law (Legislative Brief)

A newly released report highlights incentives that can be much more effective in attracting and retaining quality teachers than simple merit pay programs. The report shows how merit pay programs that reward teachers based on their students' standardized test scores do little to improve student achievement and offers information on other incentives that could be more successful.

Policy Brief
Model Legislation

More Policy Briefs