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ExpectMore.govExpectMore.gov home pageEXPECT FEDERAL PROGRAMS TO PERFORM WELL, AND BETTER EVERY YEAR.
 
Program Assessment

Program

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IDEA Special Education - Research and Innovation

The Research in Special Education program (previously called the IDEA Research and Innovation program) is the primary source of Federal funding for applied research and development that focuses on improving special education and early intervention services and results for children with disabilities.

Rating

What This Rating Means

NOT PERFORMING
Results Not Demonstrated

A rating of Results Not Demonstrated (RND) indicates that a program has not been able to develop acceptable performance goals or collect data to determine whether it is performing.
  • The program does not have specific long-term outcome goals against which the impact of federal investments in special education and early intervention research can be measured.
  • The program lacks a comprehensive strategic plan which can guide its research priorities and investments. The National Board for Education Sciences has approved research priorities for the Institute of Education Sciences, but a research plan for carrying out these priorities has not been developed.
  • No independent evaluation of the program has been conducted since the partial evaluation of program activities in 1991. The program has not provided enough information to determine if the quality and effectiveness of special education research has improved.

Improvement Plan

About Improvement Plans

We are taking the following actions to improve the performance of the program:

  • Developing measures for all education research programs to determine how research grants help provide effective strategies for improving education programs.
  • Developing a plan for special education research consistent with the National Board for Education Sciences priorities.
  • Conducting an independent evaluation of all education research supported by the Department of Education.

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