Selecting Evidence-Based Programs for Schools and Districts: Mistakes to Avoid

Bill Daggett is the founder of both the Successful Practices Network and the International Center for Leadership in Education. Dr. Daggett is recognized worldwide for his proven ability to move preK-12 education systems towards more rigorous and relevant skills and knowledge for all students. For 30 years, he has crisscrossed our nation, as well as the industrialized world, to lead school reform efforts to effectively prepare students for their future. While an avid supporter of public education, he also challenges all of us to be more focused on our children’s future than on maintaining the schools of our youth. His insights and leadership have caused nearly every major education association in the country, hundreds of school districts, numerous political and business leaders, publishers, and others to seek out his advice and guidance.

Dr. Madden is the Chairman of the Board and Cofounder of the Success for All Foundation, which develops, researches, and disseminates educational programs to increase achievement, particularly for disadvantaged students. She is also a professor at the Center for Research and Reform in Education at the School of Education at Johns Hopkins University.



Dr. Madden graduated from Reed College in 1973, and received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from American University in 1980. Since 1980, she has worked at the Center for Research and Reform in Education (CRRE) at Johns Hopkins University, where she has directed the development of the reading, writing, tutoring, language arts, and mathematics elements of Success for All, a comprehensive school reform program. An expert in literacy and instruction, Dr. Madden is the author or co-author of many articles and books on cooperative learning, tutoring, prevention of need for special education, and education of disadvantaged students, including Effective Programs for Students at Risk (Allyn & Bacon, 1989) and Two Million Children: Success for All (Corwin, 2009).  Current research interests include computer-assisted tutoring strategies, effects of vision services on achievement, and comprehensive school reform.

Amanda Neitzel is an assistant research scientist at the Center for Research and Reform in Education (CRRE). She has expertise on school-based health interventions, literacy, meta-analysis, data management, and quantitative research design. While at the CRRE, she has worked on evaluations of school-based vision programs with an emphasis on issues of implementation. She has also conducted multiple systematic reviews, including reviews of elementary literacy as well as educational programs for struggling readers. Prior to pursuing her PhD, Amanda was an elementary school teacher in a traditional public school and also served in the Peace Corps.