Auburn University’s College of Education launches new Plains Research Consortium focused on educational policy and health insights

Rooted on the Plains of Auburn and with a local, state and national focus in mind, a new Plains Research Consortium was recently launched by Auburn University’s College of Education to serve as a leading voice in educational policy and actionable health insights.

The new consortium was designed to inform and empower policymakers at all levels with evidence-based, nonpartisan data that offers solutions to enhance educational systems and improve outcomes for all students.

“Our commitment is to provide rigorous, data-driven research,” said Andrew Pendola, a member of the consortium and associate professor in Auburn’s College of Education. “We believe that by providing policymakers with timely and relevant insights, we can drive meaningful change in the education sector.”

The Plains Research Consortium is a nonpartisan group with a commitment to the highest standards of empirical research and reporting, with a focus on generating needs-driven and policy relevant data that informs education policies. Pendola and David Marshall, who also is involved in the consortium and is an associate professor in Auburn’s College of Education, said the group will be dedicated to ethical practices and full transparency in methods, findings, and recommendations. They said it will strive to be at the forefront of innovative research methods to drive meaningful change in a timely manner.

"Through our research, we aim to address the most pressing challenges in education and provide actionable solutions that benefit students, educators, and communities alike," Marshall added.

Just recently, the consortium assisted with helpful data in the leadup to a new cell phone policy in Virginia that as of Jan. 1, 2025, called for students to turn off their phones and keep them stored away all day, including during lunch and between class periods. Prior to Virginia’s cell phone policy implementation, the consortium partnered with a school district in that state to understand the potential impact of the policy. The consortium surveyed the district's middle and high school teachers in December to collect baseline data and query teachers’ views of the new policy.

By large margins, teachers agreed that cell phones are a distraction in class and were in support of the new policy. Additionally, teachers wanted clear guidelines for implementation and consistent enforcement of consequences for students who violated the policy.

The consortium also recently issued a research brief on the topic of “educational spending as economic development.” The consortium found that a major leverage point in improving employment, consumer demand, and investment is through state investments in quality PK-12 education. The consortium noted that “research is clear that areas with higher and more targeted investments see significant long-term returns in terms of economic capacity, human capital, wages, and tax revenue, along with a host of social benefits including a ‘multiplier effect’ on local jobs, increased property values, reduced social and judicial costs, and community revitalization. In short, ‘Jobs follow better schools.’”

In addition to that of Marshall and Pendola, the consortium’s efforts will be supported by the following in Auburn’s College of Education: Department of Educational Foundations, Leadership, and Technology Head William Murrah; Visiting Assistant Professor Natalie Schoettler; Chih Hsuan Wang, a professor in Educational Research, Measurement, and Assessment; and Jung Won Hur, a professor of Instructional Technology.