Evidence-Based Practices Quotes

Boston's justice system is in serious need of reform. Many of its policies and practices are antiquated, expensive, and don't really even make Boston safer.

I am strongly committed to evidence-based policymaking across government.

Policy should always be rooted in unbiased science.

How do you deliver the best possible and affordable health care to maximize health?

I know that on LAPD they have used psychics. They used it on the Hillside strangler case. I'm not sure on the Richard Ramirez case. I can't say one thing or another about it. I've read about it. I really don't have a lot to say about if it works or if it doesn't.

The FBI Academy teaches new agents that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.

We all have faith in something: usually a mixture of some personal beliefs with modern science. I am not like that. Mostly I just believe in what personally has worked for me.

In Chicago in 2000, the Cure Violence health approach saw a 67 percent decline in shootings and killings, which soon replicated to 70 communities nationwide with multiple independent evaluations from world-renowned institutions, such as the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Goals and objectives are based on theories and foundations.

It is very challenging to have a kind of data-driven, performance-oriented culture and to do progressive pedagogy. These things don't naturally, or easily, go together.

There's nothing conservative about allowing ourselves to become so inured to a 'tough on crime' frame of mind that we would abandon tested alternatives that can yield better outcomes.

If you can help other people understand those truths - and in my mind, the only way I know to do that is with large scale, multi-year research projects, where you start with a question and then very rigorously and comprehensively answer that question.

Health reform should be open and transparent.

What we're doing in San Francisco and what we're doing with other criminal justice partners across the state and across the country is anything but indiscriminate. We are being careful. We are being focused and surgical in our efforts to decrease the jail population.

There are things done under the name of science which are ridiculous. But there is also stuff done which sounds funny but is really serious.

People in both fields operate with beliefs and biases. To the extent you can eliminate both and replace them with data, you gain a clear advantage.

How do we crate a quality health care system that is universal?

If crime is going down, you shouldn't be increasing resources for crime prevention. Or you should be taking note of what has worked and concentrate the crime-prevention methods on policies that have a track record of success.

Perhaps, for once, we should try interventions that are informed by science and proven to work.

But the other notion is, we also believe that those folks closest on the ground that we're holding accountable for the results can decide, and ought to evaluate which programs get results.

I think there are ways that graduate students can fact-check their work. I think there are ways that we can do this that don't require massive amounts of resources.

More and more parents and voters have rejected the teachers' union antiquated, top down, one-size-fits-all approach to education and continue to elect candidates who embrace reform that celebrates students and empowers parents.

I've only actively promoted what we always hope is good science.

You have all this education theory, and people try to make larger statements than maybe what their data would back up, because they've done these small experiments that are tied to a very particular case with a very particular implementation... theory definitely matters, but I think dogma matters less.

The American Federation of Teachers has a long track record of working with administrators, parents, and communities to provide real help to struggling students and low-performing schools. We've learned that intensive interventions, proven programs, and adequate resources can transform students' lives and their schools.