U. associate professor co-authors report on implications of causal evidence in education

October 8, 2026 - 07:02

Laura Peck, an associate professor at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, has co-authored a new report examining how causal evidence influences education. The work was completed through her role with The Future of Evidence in Education Network.

Peck also serves as a principal faculty fellow for the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development. Her research focuses on how public programs affect the people they are designed to serve.

The report looks at the growing push to base classroom decisions on rigorous research rather than intuition or tradition. Causal evidence, which tries to show whether a specific practice actually produces a specific result, has become a central demand among policymakers and school leaders. Yet using that evidence well is not simple. Studies can conflict, conditions in one district may not match another, and findings that look strong in a controlled trial can fade when applied at scale.

Peck's broader work on public programs gives her a practical view of these challenges. She has spent years studying whether workforce and education interventions deliver on their promises. That experience informs the report's argument that evidence should guide decisions without being treated as a fixed answer. The report calls for careful interpretation, attention to local context, and continued testing as programs evolve.