EXAMPLES OF PRIORITIZING EVIDENCE WITH AN EVIDENCE REQUIREMENT
Allocations of Federal Education Funds by SEAs
The Minnesota Department of Education’s Full Service Community School Grant Program exclusively funds programs that adhere to the design features of the evidence-based Full Service Community School model (page 1).
The Tennessee Department of Education’s All Corps High-Dosage Tutoring program requires grantees to implement high-dosage tutoring programs that are aligned with the key features that define evidence-based high-dosage tutoring (page 10).
Allocations of State Funds by SEAs
The Tennessee Department of Education’s Summer Learning Program requires grantees to use the funds distributed through this grant program to support evidence-based summer learning programs and grantees must demonstrate how their programs align with the key features described throughout the summer learning guidance.
The Michigan Department of Education’s Great Start Readiness Program requires grantees to use funds for Great Start Readiness programs which include the key features aligned with the Great Start Readiness evidence-base.
Allocations of Federal Funds by Federal Agencies
The federal American Rescue Plan and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ARP-ESSER) specified minimum percentages of funding that SEAs were required to use on evidence-based academic interventions, summer programs and afterschool activities.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Innovation and Early Learning Programs, Education Innovation and Research Program expansion grants fund only evidence-based activities, as defined explicitly in the grant announcement.
Allocations of Federal Education Funds by SEAs
The Maryland Department of Education’s Stronger Connections Grant scoring rubric includes up to 10 points (out of 90) that were awarded for applicants’ description of how the strategies they’ve selected are evidence-based (page 23).
In the scoring rubric for its 2023 Comprehensive State Literacy Development Grant program, the Ohio Department of Education assesses the degree to which the applicant has included evidence-based strategies in their application, as well as the degree to which the applicant has provided an explanation of how they determined those strategies to be evidence-based. Ohio awards up to 9 points (out of 60) for these criteria, and applicants must earn at least 6 of those points to be eligible for an award (page 47).
Allocations of Federal Funds by Federal Agencies
The U.S. Department of Education’s Upward Bound and Comprehensive State Literacy Development programs both include a competitive preference priority for strategies supported by evidence.
AmeriCorps’s State and National competitive grants program allocates up to 20 points for an applicant’s level of evidence and the quality of the evidence.
RFA's Evidence Honor Roll
Get access to a catalog of programs that define and prioritize evidence of effectiveness with RFA's "Honor Roll of State Grant Programs that Define and Prioritize Evidence." State agencies can nominate their state grant program(s) for potential inclusion using this form. RFA reviews nominations and updates the honor roll on a rolling basis.
Leading Example Submissions
If you know an SEA that is implementing evidence-based spending strategies, nominate them to be included in the Guide!