Robert Slavin
Robert "Bob" Slavin, Ph.D., is an educational researcher who directs the Center for Research and Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins University. Born in Bethesda, Maryland in 1950, he received his B.A. in Psychology in 1972 at Reed College. He received his Ph.D. in Social Relations at Johns Hopkins University in 1975, and since then has spent his entire career at Johns Hopkins, working as a full-time researcher in research centers. He also worked part-time at the University of York in England from 2008 to 2016, co-founding and leading a research center there, the Institute for Effective Education.
Research and Impact
Dr. Slavin's research has focused on developing and evaluating methods to improve the academic performance of disadvantaged students. He is known for his work on cooperative learning, in which students work in small teams to help each other learn. Starting in 1987, he and his wife, Dr. Nancy Madden, led the development and evaluation of Success for All, a whole-school reform approach focused in particular on ensuring that all students succeed in reading. In 2020, Success for All is engaged with approximately 1000 schools in the U.S., England, and the Netherlands, using all or part of the approach.
Dr. Slavin has been a major proponent of the use of programs proven to be effective in rigorous research. He has published many meta-analyses synthesizing research on elementary and secondary reading, mathematics, writing, science, and early childhood programs. In 2007, he began a free website called the Best Evidence Encyclopedia, to make these reviews available to educators and researchers. In 2017, after the U.S. Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), he launched another website, Evidence for ESSA, intended to help educators determine which specific programs would meet Evidence for ESSA evidence standards.
Dr. Slavin has also carried out research on tutoring for struggling readers, programs for kindergarten, writing, mathematics, social-emotional learning, and many other topics. In all, he has published more than 300 refereed articles.
Awards and Honors
AERA Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education Award, 2019
Jenny Pomeroy Award for Excellence in Vision and Public Health, 2018
E. L. Thorndike Award for Distinguished Psychological Contributions to Education, American Psychological Association, 2017
Honorary Doctorate, University of Groningen, The Netherlands, 2014
AERA Fellow, 2010 to present
AERA Review of Research Award, 2009
Member, National Academy of Education, 2009 to present
Palmer O. Johnson Award (best article in an AERA journal in 2007), American Educational Research Association, 2008
Honorary Doctorate, University of Ghent, Belgium, 2008.
University of Pennsylvania-CPRE Award for Contributions to Educational Research, 2005
Distinguished Service Award, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2000
Honorary Doctorate, University of Liège, Belgium, 1999
James Bryant Conant Award, Education Commission of the States, 1998
Charles A. Dana Award, 1994
Palmer 0. Johnson Award (best article in an AERA journal in 1986), American Educational Research Association, 1988
Raymond B. Cattell Early Career Award for Programmatic Research, American Educational Research Association, 1985
Selected References
Books
Slavin, R. E. (2018). Educational psychology: Theory into practice (12th Ed.). Boston: Pearson.
Slavin, R.E., Madden, N.A., Chambers, B., & Haxby, B. (2009). Two million children: Success for All. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Slavin, R. E. (1995). Cooperative learning: Theory, research, and practice (2nd Ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Journal Articles
Slavin, R. E. (2020). How evidence-based reform will transform research and practice in education. Educational Psychologist, 55 (1), 21-31. DOI: 10.1080/00461520.2019.1611432
Cheung, A., Xie, C., Zhang, T., & Slavin, R. E. (2020). Success for All: A quantitative synthesis of evaluations. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Inns, A., Lake, C., Pellegrini, M., & Slavin, R. (2020). A synthesis of quantitative research on programs for struggling readers in elementary schools. Available at www.bestevidence.org. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Pellegrini, M., Inns, A., Lake, C., & Slavin, R. (2020). Effective programs in elementary mathematics: A best-evidence synthesis. Available at www.bestevidence.com. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Baye, A., Lake, C., Inns, A., & Slavin, R. (2019). Effective reading programs for secondary students. Reading Research Quarterly, 54 (2), 133-166.
Slavin, R., Collins, M., Friedman, D., Repka, M., Mudie, L., Owoeye, J., … & Madden, N. (2018). In plain sight: Reading outcomes of providing eyeglasses to disadvantaged children. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 23, (3), 250-258.
Madden, N. A., & Slavin, R. E. (2017). Evaluations of technology-assisted small-group tutoring for struggling readers. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 1-8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2016.1255577
Cheung, A., Slavin, R.E., Kim, E., & Lake, C. (2016). Effective secondary science programs: A best-evidence synthesis. Journal of Research on Science Teaching, 54 (1), 58-81. Doi: 10.1002/tea.21338
Chambers, B., Cheung, A., & Slavin, R. (2016). Literacy and language outcomes of balanced and developmental-constructivist approaches to early childhood education: A systematic review. Educational Research Review 18, 88-111.
Cheung, A., & Slavin, R. (2016). How methodological features affect effect sizes in education. Educational Researcher, 45 (5), 283-292.
Slavin, R. E., Lake, C., Hanley, P., & Thurston, A. (2014). Experimental evaluations of elementary science programs: A best-evidence synthesis. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 51 (7), 870-901.
Cheung, A., & Slavin, R. E. (2013). The effectiveness of educational technology applications for enhancing mathematics achievement in K-12 classrooms: A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 9, 88-113.
Slavin, R. E., Cheung, A., Holmes, G., Madden, N. A., & Chamberlain, A. (2013). Effects of a data-driven district reform model on state assessment outcomes. American Educational Research Journal, 50 (2), 371-396.
Cheung, A., & Slavin, R. E. (2012). Effective reading programs for Spanish-dominant English language learners (ELLs) in the elementary grades. Review of Educational Research, 82 (4), 351-395.
Madden, N.A., Slavin, R.E., Logan, M., & Cheung, A. (2011). Effects of cooperative writing with embedded multimedia: A randomized experiment. Effective Education, 3 (1), 1-9.
Rowan, B., Correnti, R., Miller, R., & Camburn, E. (2009). School improvement by design: Lessons from a study of comprehensive school reform programs. Ann Arbor, MI: Consortium for Policy Research in Education.
Slavin, R.E., Lake, C., & Groff, C. (2009). Effective programs in middle and high school mathematics: A best-evidence synthesis. Review of Educational Research, 79 (2), 839-911.
Slavin, R.E., Chamberlain, A., Daniels, C., & Madden, N.A. (2009). The Reading Edge: A randomized evaluation of a middle school cooperative reading program. Effective Education, 1 (1), 13-26.
Slavin, R.E., Cheung, A., Groff, C., & Lake, C. (2008). Effective reading programs for middle and high schools: A best evidence synthesis. Reading Research Quarterly, 43 (3), 290-322.
Chamberlain, A., Daniels, C., Madden, N.A., & Slavin, R.E. (2007). A randomized evaluation of the Success for All Middle School reading program. Middle Grades Reading Journal, 2 (1), 1-22.
Borman, G., Slavin, R.E., Cheung, A., Chamberlain, A., Madden, N.A., & Chambers, B. (2007). Final reading outcomes of the national randomized field trial of Success for All. American Educational Research Journal, 44(3) 701-703. Winner of the 2008 Palmer O. Johnson Award, AERA.
Borman, G., Hewes, G., Overman, L., & Brown, S. (2003). Comprehensive school reform and achievement: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 73 (2), 125-230.
Borman, G. & Hewes, G. (2002). The long-term effects and cost-effectiveness of Success for All. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 24 (4), 243-266.
Calderón, M., Hertz-Lazarowitz, R., & Slavin, R. E. (1998). Effects of Bilingual Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition on students transitioning from Spanish to English reading. Elementary School Journal, 99 (2), 153-166.
Slavin, R. E. (1995). A model of effective instruction. The Educational Forum, 59 (2), 166-176.
Stevens, R. J., & Slavin, R. E. (1995). Effects of a cooperative learning approach in reading and writing on handicapped and non-handicapped students. Elementary School Journal, 95 (3), 241-262.
Stevens, R. J., & Slavin, R. E. (1995). The cooperative elementary school: Effects on students’ achievement, attitudes, and social relations. American Educational Research Journal, 32 (2) 321-351.
Madden, N. A., Slavin, R. E., Karweit, N. L., Dolan, L., & Wasik, B. (1993). Success for All: Longitudinal effects of a schoolwide elementary restructuring program. American Educational Reseach Journal, 30, 123-148.