Just as test scores, interviews with teachers, and school board meetings provide crucial information and context in education stories, scientific evidence similarly strengthens reporting by substantiating claims, identifying trends, and placing school issues in broader context.
Five Ideas for Adding Science to Education Stories
If you’re reporting on …
Search for relevant research on …
Education policy
Local impacts of changes to state and federal education budgets
How DEI programs affect student learning outcomes
Evidence surrounding proposed curricula changes
Educational costs and finance
How different educational infrastructure investments pay off
How student loans affect borrowers and their families
How state budget cuts affect public university funding and tuition rates
Teacher shortages
Trends in teacher retention and turnover
How teacher turnover affects student learning
Interventions for teacher resilience and retention
Digital literacy and classroom technology
Whether certain digital tools improve learning outcomes
Impacts of early exposure to technology
How AI can help or hinder learning
After-school programs
Inequities in “out-of-school time” opportunities
Trends in after-school offerings and attendance
Cost-benefit tradeoffs for after-school programs
Inform Your Education Reporting with Data
Here are some data sources you can use to bolster your reporting with evidence. Whenever you’re using data, ask experts how those data are gathered and what their limitations are.
Civil Rights Data Collection: Collects data on student enrollment, access to school programs and services, bullying and harassment, and student discipline—all disaggregated by race, ethnicity, sex, disability, and English-learning status.
Education Data Initiative: Provides accessible reports and raw data on the cost of higher education, college enrollment and dropout rates, financial aid and student loans, and educational attainment.
Education Data Explorer: Aggregates school-, district-, and state-level data about demographics, coursework, finances, student outcomes, and staffing. You can comb through and customize these datasets to identify trends.
Conflicts of interest or bias — Organizations or companies with an agenda, such as selling a curriculum or shaping policy, sometimes fund education research. Look into who’s supporting a study and why, share what you find, and seek outside comment on potential conflicts of interest.
Divide between research and practice — Professionals working with students every day and researchers exploring how they learn can sometimes be siloed. A strong story will bring together different forms of expertise.
Overlooking key context — Education stories should delve into what happens beyond the classroom. Economic, sociological, and environmental factors have a profound impact on student outcomes—and on whether programs succeed or fail.
Types of Experts to Contact and Questions to Ask
Ask economists about:
Returns on early childhood education programs
School voucher program outcomes
Labor markets for different college degrees
Family socioeconomic status and school attendance
College tuition increases and enrollment
Ask epidemiologists about:
School nutrition programs
Air quality in schools
Extreme heat and outdoor activities
School sports and safety
Infectious disease spread in schools
Ask psychologists about:
Social emotional learning
How children learn to read
Learning differences and accommodations
Bias in grading and discipline
Evidence backing academic interventions
Ask technology experts about:
AI policies in schools
Digital literacy
Science of learning games
How classroom technologies compare with analog options
Virtual learning outcomes
Real Stories Including Scientific Evidence and Experts
This tip sheet was co-created by Tori Espensen (SciLine) and Rachel Zamzow and Kate Fishman (The Open Notebook). Special thanks to Missouri School of Journalism graduate student Tyanna Jackson for research.
Find More Resources for Local Journalists at The Open Notebook
