The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) was established in 2002 by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences to provide educators, policymakers, and the public with a central and trusted source of scientific evidence of what works in education. The WWC is administered by the Department, through a contract to a joint venture of the American Institutes for Research and the Campbell Collaboration.
To provide information needed by decision-makers, the WWC reviews and reports on existing studies of interventions (education programs, products, practices, and policies) in selected topic areas. WWC reviews of the evidence apply a set of standards that follow scientifically valid criteria for determining the effectiveness of these interventions. The WWC provides its findings in accessible, user-friendly, online reports, which include the following:
- Reports on evaluation studies that pass the WWC standards
- Reports on the research base for each identified intervention
- Reports that synthesize the evaluation studies of interventions within defined topic areas
A Technical Advisory Group (TAG) composed of the nation's leading experts in research design, program evaluation, and research synthesis advises on the standards for evaluation research reviews and monitors and informs the methodological aspects of WWC reviews and reports.
The WWC is committed to ensuring that its products and services meet user needs and invites input from educators, policymakers, researchers, and members of the public. All products are available through the WWC website at www.whatworks.ed.gov