<論文>米国連邦教育政策におけるエビデンス要求の現在 --全ての生徒が成功する法における4つのエビデンスの階層--

Abstract

This paper examines the recent changes in the "evidence-based" policy in the United States, and explores the possibility whether the government's intention of the "evidence-based" policy and the continuance of the democratic and humanized teaching practices and research could take place at the same time. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), enacted on December 10, 2015, emphasized the use of evidence-based practices, strategies and interventions, as in previous federal policies. The Act defines evidence-based intervention as supported by strong evidence, moderate evidence, promising evidence, or evidence that demonstrates a rationale. In other words, ESSA provides four tiers of evidence according to the level of rigor. The primary feature of ESSA is the relative breadth of the legally accepted evidence. The ESSA stands in contrast to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), where for NCLB, only studies using randomized controlled trials or quasi-experimental methods were accepted as evidence. And the breadth of the ESSA's evidence means that state and school district officials have a wide range of options when considering federally funded approaches, instead of being bound by extremely narrow and strict standards. It is one of the aids in finding the appropriate approach for local needs and improvement plans. However, concerns about the definition of Tier 4 evidence have been emphasized from a number of perspectives as ambiguous, and in fact its definition is open to widespread interpretation.