In the initial release of Ohio’s Evidence-Based Clearinghouse (September 2018), the evidence-based strategies included are those that have been previously reviewed and rated by existing clearinghouses.

Ohio’s Evidence-Based Clearinghouse uses REL Midwest’s ESSA Clearinghouse Crosswalk to align ratings from existing clearinghouses to ESSA evidence standards.

• Multiple studies were combined to determine if an evidence-based strategy met the large sample threshold.
• In cases where an evidence-based strategy is rated by more than one clearinghouse, Ohio’s Evidence-Based Clearinghouse connects practitioners to the clearinghouse that includes the most evidence associated with the strategy. For example, if one clearinghouse includes five references associated with an evidence-based strategy and a second clearinghouse includes seven references, Ohio’s Evidence-Based Clearinghouse will connect practitioners to the clearinghouse that included seven references.
• Not all clearinghouses within the REL Crosswalk are contained in the initial launch of the ESSA Clearinghouse.

The initial September 2018 launch of Ohio’s Evidence-Based Clearinghouse will allow practitioners to filter selections based on content focus area, subject, grade bands, ESSA evidence levels, urban/rural settings, and student demographics.

For several of the filters available in Ohio’s Evidence-Based Clearinghouse, there is no universally-accepted definition of the filter. For example, how researchers define “urban” versus “rural” may vary across evaluation studies. In cases such as this, Ohio’s Evidence-Based Clearinghouse is not intended to apply a specific definition across all evaluations. Two strategies, that have been evaluated through studies that define “urban” differently, may both be associated with urban settings.

Cases where a specific definition of a filter or student demographic is applied within Ohio’s Evidence-Based Clearinghouse system include:

• Grade Band: Early Childhood is defined as Birth through age 5; Elementary School is defined as grades K-5; Middle School is defined as grades 6-8; and High School is defined as grades 9-12.
• Evidence Level – The levels of evidence identified within Ohio’s Evidence-Based Clearinghouse and
• Student Demographics: Justice Involved is a term used in any case where the court system is involved in a student’s life.

Associating Evidence-Based Strategies with Student Demographics Understanding if an evidence-based strategy works for a specific student subgroup is an important part of knowing whether that strategy may help you meet your local needs. In associating evidence-based strategies with specific student subgroups, the Ohio Evidence-Based Clearinghouse applies the following:

• An evidence-based strategy must be targeted towards, evaluated and shown to work for that specific student subgroup exclusively. For example:
• If a strategy was not designed to address the needs of exclusively Students with Disabilities, that strategy is not associated specifically with the Students with Disabilities subgroup.
• If a strategy was designed to address the needs of exclusively Students with Disabilities, but has never been evaluated with the intent of understanding whether it worked for Students with Disabilities, that strategy is not associated specifically with the Students with Disabilities subgroup.
• If a strategy was designed to address the needs of exclusively Students with Disabilities, has been evaluated with the intent of understanding whether it worked for Students with Disabilities, and existing evaluation studies showed that the strategy does work for Students with Disabilities, then the strategy is associated specifically with the Students with Disabilities subgroup.