National Diffusion Network (NDN)
A U.S. Department of Education program established in 1974 for nationwide implementation of exemplary education schemes. The program is a three-step operation: assessment of innovative educational schemes, endorsement of those selected as exemplary and assistance (training, materials, etc.) to local districts that decide to implement a new scheme. The program is laced with bureaucratic titles. The group that assesses new schemes is called the Joint Dissemination Review Panel, and the assessment process is called the JDRP Review. Once endorsed as exemplary, an innovative educational scheme earns the title of Developer/ Demonstrator, or DD, and the state or school district that decides to adopt the new educational scheme is called a Facilitator.
In assessing new approaches to education, the JDRP uses six criteria:
- Did the new approach produce a change?
- Was the change statistically significant?
- Was the change educationally significant?
- What evidence proves that the change was a direct result of the new educational approach?
- Can the new scheme be replicated elsewhere with the likelihood of achieving a similar change?
- Is the evidence presented believable and interpretable?
School districts adopting educational programs approved by NDN receive appropriate training and technical implementation help. Costs of implementation are shared equally by NDN, the school or school district and the state.