Last modified: January 5, 2024

Policy No. 4495 Research Approvals

Download Policy No. 4495 Research Approvals

The Provo City School District Board of Education supports meaningful and relevant educational research and is willing to partner with worthy research activities. Research within Provo City School District should support the goals and initiatives of the district and should be accomplished with minimal intrusion on teaching and learning. In accordance with this statement, research proposals must be ethical, benefit students, and meet at least one of the following district criteria:

Aligns with the district aim statement that every student will end each school year having met or exceeded the essential learning standards, fully prepared for the next grade/course. (District Improvement Plan)
Meets Board Goal #1, Continuous academic improvement and transparency.
Meets Board Goal #2, Supports teachers and teaching aligned with research, best practices, and teacher-identified needs.
Meets Board Goal #3 Improves certainty and stability in the direction of the district.
Meets Board Goal #4, financial prioritization, long-term planning, and transparency.
Increases High School Graduation (Superintendent and board directive) • Increases reading proficiency for all students, emphasis on grades 1 – 3 (State code)
Addresses a safe learning environment (State code for safe schools – FHA) • Adheres to Utah Student Data Privacy Act and FERPA
Addresses one of the six selected Visible Learning categories (District Improvement Plan)
- Contributions from the student
  - Self-reported grades: self-assessment of learning progress
  - Concentration, persistence, and engagement
- Contributions from the home
  - Parental involvement in learning
  - Positive communication about aspirations and expectations
- Contributions from the school
  - Instructional leadership promoting and participating in teacher learning
  - Opportunities for acceleration of learning
- Contributions from the teacher
  - Teacher clarity: communicating learning intentions and success criteria
  - Teacher – student relationship
- Contributions from the curricula
  - Repeated readings
  - Vocabulary programs
- Contributions from teaching practices
  - Feedback from teacher to student, and student to teacher
  - Formative assessment and evaluation

In addition to the previous criteria, the following questions will be considered as research requests are made to district staff:

Does the group design (Randomized Controlled Trial-RCT, Quantitative Evaluation and DesignQED, or Case Study) match the research question and the needs of schools?
Will the data and/or conclusions benefit the district?
- How does the study address attrition?
- How does the study establish a baseline equivalence?
- How does the study address confounding factors?
- Does the study use the same outcome measures?
Can the district have confidence in the results?
Is the study overly intrusive to the educational experience of our students?
Is there an oversaturation of studies for the targeted population?

No research studies are permitted to be undertaken in Provo City School District without advance written approval. Individuals wishing to have a research study considered should contact the district’s Teaching and Learning department.

Approved by Board of Education

September 11, 2018