Research Guides: EDUC 275: Emergent Multilingual Learners in U.S. Schools (HC): Policy Briefs

Writing a Policy Brief

UNC Writing Center Tips and Tools
The UNC Writing Center has compiled a helpful guide to writing policy briefs.
International Centre for Policy Advocacy: Policy Brief Resource Page
This guide has tips, descriptions, and samples of what makes a good policy brief.

What is a Policy Brief?

The National Education Policy Center defines a policy brief as a synthesis of "existing research knowledge on a policy or practice issue of importance. Written in language an interested non-expert would find accessible, policy briefs answer the questions: 'What is the research evidence related to a given policy or practice option – and what policy recommendations follow from that evidence?'”

Examples of policy briefs:

School Poverty Rates: How High Before They Harm Students?

Rosyln Mickelson

National Education Policy Center, 2018

State-Level English Language Learner Policies

Micah Ann Wixom

Education Commission of the States, 2015

Finding Policy Briefs and Research Reports from Think Tanks

The indexes below will help you find policy reports with searches by topic. The results come only from think tanks and are more authoritative than what you may find in Google.

PolicyFile
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Provides access to articles on public policy research and analysis from think tanks, university research programs, research organizations and publishers. Covers a wide range of topics from international trade to health care reform, from telecommunications regulation to terrorism. Most content is NOT peer-reviewed.

National Education Policy Center
"The mission of the National Education Policy Center is to produce and disseminate high-quality, peer-reviewed research to inform education policy discussions. We are guided by the belief that the democratic governance of public education is strengthened when policies are based on sound evidence."

Think Tanks

Think tanks are private organizations that do research and make policy recommendations. They frequently focus their work on a particular issue or group of related concerns. The groups identified below work on issues involving bilingual education. Visit their websites for the most up-to-date reports and analysis available.

Brookings Institution
The Go to Guide for think tanks rated Brookings highest in 2013. Examples of their research include The Future of Immigrant Children (2010) and Immigrant Children Falling behind (2011) (a series of talks).
Center for Education Policy Analysis
Stanford University's Center focuses on research to inform policies that will improve schools and teaching. Reports, like the ones linked in this news article, "Students learning English benefit more in two-language instructional programs..." are available on the website.
Migration Policy Institute - Education Page
MPI presents an overview of issues involving education along with links to research, reports, press releases, and readings.
Pew Hispanic Center - Education Page
The Pew Hispanic Center is well respected for the depth and reliability of its research. Here the Center gathers together reports, statistics, and analysis of students from grade school through college.
Urban Institute - Education
The Urban Institute focuses on research and policy analysis of major issues facing American cities. Publications like Early Education Programs and Children of Immigrants: Learning Each Other's Language (2010) can be found on the website.