The Regional Educational Laboratory West (REL West) at WestEd — serving Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah — is part of a national network of 10 RELs whose purpose is to conduct applied research, and provide analytic support and resources that increase the use of high-quality data and evidence in education decision-making, and link research, policy, and practice.
REL West work is carried out in partnership with state education agencies, educators from preschool through college, and other local partners. The work through partnerships is focused on high-leverage problems, defined as those that are priorities for regional educators and policymakers, and that could result in substantial improvements in education outcomes for many students or for key groups of students. During the 2022 to 2027 REL West cycle, the lab is focusing on the following areas in particular:
Racial equity
Accelerating partners’ efforts to address disciplinary in the outcome for students of color and establish the necessary educational conditions for these students to learn and succeed.
Multilingual, bilingual, and heritage language (MBH) learners
Supporting the use of research and evidence to select interventions, design programs, and run systems in ways that reflect a contextualized understanding of the strengths and needs of MBH learners.
Mathematics proficiency
Providing technical support to help district implementation, testing, and refinement of evidence-based mathematics instruction using local interim assessment data to improve instructional practices in mathematics.
Support of the Whole Child
Strengthening cross-sector collaboration to improve student outcomes that support academic learning, including social and emotional learning, physical and mental health, and family engagement and support.
Teachers and leaders across Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah are provided access to REL research, and technical assistance on the use of evidence, through webinars, infographics, videos, e-newsletters; as well as events that bring together researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to learn deeply about an issue and consider approaches to education improvements.
Visit the REL West website on the Institute of Education Sciences platform for more information.