R&D for Innovation in Public Education

Contrary to what we believed when our foundation was launched, the basic components of what public education systems need to teach all students to world-class standards, particularly those students for whom public schools are their only option, do not exist in any coherent, accessible or evidence-based way. Before we can move forward with our work to support states and districts in fundamental redesign around a rigorous learning system, these basic components must be aggregated and created.

The learning system cannot be generic. If students in the 450-plus districts on which we are focused are to graduate ready for college, career and life in the 21st century, their unique perspectives and needs must be placed at the heart of the learning system. Disparities rooted in race and poverty can only be eradicated through frameworks and tools that enable educators to accelerate learning dramatically.

In as much as this implies the need for new approaches and tools, the research and development (R&D) and innovation capacity of the sector must be augmented significantly.

R&D Deficit Less than one quarter of one percent of the overall education budget in the United States is spent on research and development (R&D) — compared to at least 15 to 25 percent in fields such as medicine and engineering. Given this lack of investment in R&D, our public school systems have been slow to evolve. Now that district leaders, school principals and teachers are charged with educating all students to uniform levels of proficiency, the consequences of a historic deficit in investment and innovation are being felt acutely.

Reinvention There is a fundamental reinvention that must occur to transform American public education into a world-class system for all our children — one that prepares and equips them for the challenges of life, career and citizenship in the 21st century. This requires translating user-centered research and development processes to the practice of education.

Cross-Sector Innovation Cross-sector collaboration among researchers and practitioners inside and outside the field of education — embedded in the real-world contexts of schools, districts and states — is needed to aggregate what is already known, to innovate and prototype in areas where we still have much to learn, and to test and refine tools and solutions that will accelerate student achievement and readiness for college and career.