20th Anniversary Conference

Education Reform Then and Now:

A Policy Conference Celebrating 20 Years of the Department of Education Reform

Where: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR

 

When: October 23-24, 2025

 

Co-Chairs: Harry Patrinos and Patrick Wolf

Register to Attend

There is no cost to attend, but space is limited. Please register here by September 30, 2025.

Call for Proposals

All submissions are due by 5:00 PM CT on Friday, April 4, 2025.

 

Notification of proposal acceptance or rejection will be sent by May 18, 2025

Twenty years ago, education reform was having a moment. President Bush’s signature No Child Left Behind Act had recently passed and was being implemented. The package of initiatives in the law included elements promoting transparency, test-based accountability, and school choice. The public charter school sector was growing, and teacher merit pay, and value-added measures were prominent human capital reforms. The Institute of Education Sciences had been launched to help determine what works in education. Policy research and reform was in the air.

Amidst this reform push, the Department of Education Reform in the College of Education and Health Professions was established at the University of Arkansas in 2005. According to the Department’s founding document, its mission is to point the way towards improved educational outcomes “in Arkansas and across the nation.” It is charged with doing so by “breaking new ground in terms of research in important policy areas and establish(ing) intervention programs through which these efforts will be brought to bear in the public schools. These programs will serve as examples to reform-minded educators as well as policy makers.”

The purpose of this conference is to reflect upon the state of education reform research and policy, nationally, with the expectation that the current era might be an inflection point. What has been accomplished in the past two decades regarding identifying ways to improve education? Which promising reforms have proven to be politically palatable and sustainable? Where should researchers and policy makers turn, now, to find ways to improve student achievement and character outcomes for the benefit of individuals and society? Those are the motivating questions for this gathering.

Session Categories

Paper proposals will be welcome that address the following themes:

  • Addressing COVID-19 Learning Loss
  • Improving teacher quality
  • Strengthening educational leadership
  • Promoting transparency and accountability in education
  • School choice
  • Gifted and talented identification and programming
  • Classical education and homeschooling

Papers can take the form of retrospectives, systematic reviews, think pieces, or original empirical studies. Submitters will suggest which theme or themes are the best fit for the paper, and a review team will select the papers for presentation on each themed panel. Panels will be chaired by a core member of the Department of Education Reform faculty. Every panel will be a plenary. The conference will fund the travel expenses of presenting authors. Accepted submissions will be eligible for publication in an edited volume focused on the conference theme.

Guidelines for Content and Submission of Proposals

To submit a proposal, please fill out the Google form linked below:

https://forms.gle/bHiyFmFaU98gPVBD6

Questions about proposal submissions may be directed to the Program Co-Chairs:

Hotel Accommodations

Speakers may participate in the conference room block at the 21C hotel in Bentonville, AR. Details will be included in your acceptance email. The deadline to participate in the room block is September 22, 2025.