Proving Ground and the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks

Proving Ground and the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks

Housed within Harvard University’s Center for Education Policy & Research (CEPR), Proving Ground and the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks (NCRERN) are programs designed to support capacity building around the use of data and analysis in districts' continuous improvement efforts. Both are networks through which Harvard staff provide participating districts support in three key areas:
  • Data Analysis to shed light on challenges and assess impact of solutions;
  • Strategic Advice and Hands-On Assistance in using evidence to prioritize resources and continuously improve implementation; and 
  • Peer Networking to solve common problems and share resources and ideas with other network members. 

National Center for Rural Education Research Networks

In February 2018, the Center for Education Policy & Research at Harvard University and the Ohio Department of Education announced the creation of the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks.

The National Center for Rural Education Research Networks is funded by a five-year, $10 million award from the U.S. Department of Education's Institute for Education Sciences. The center supports a network of up to 30 rural school districts in Ohio to apply the Proving Ground continuous improvement model to the pressing challenges of chronic absenteeism, college readiness and college enrollment.

Proving Ground

Ohio is in its sixth year of collaborating with Proving Ground to address Chronic Absenteeism. Through a continuous improvement framework, Proving Ground helps districts generate and use evidence rapidly and effectively. Most recently, participating Ohio districts included Canton City, East Cleveland and Maple Heights. Through Proving Ground, these districts received coaching on needs assessments, researching and selecting evidence-based practices, piloting solutions through adaptive evaluation, and examining results to understand what is working for their students and families.

Additional Resources

Last Modified: 9/21/2022 10:24:34 AM