Across two very different education systems—the Netherlands and the U.S. state of Maryland—a compelling idea is taking hold: that teachers should have a foundational understanding of how learning works, grounded in research, not fashion or intuition. The prospect sounds uncontroversial. After all, who wouldn’t want teaching informed by the best available evidence? And yet, both conditions are discovering that turning evidence into practice—and practice into policy—is far harder than it first appears.
The Netherlands considers a bold proposal
In the Netherlands, the Ministry of Education is weighing a proposal that would make evidence-informed approaches to teaching an explicit professional obligation for educators (Onderwijsraad, 2025). At the request of parliament, the Dutch Education Council is now reviewing what such a mandate would require, assessing both its potential and its risks.
It appears the goal is not to bind teachers to a rigid set of methods, but to ensure that every educator has a baseline understanding of how learning happens: how memory forms, why prior knowledge matters, why spacing and retrieval strengthen learning, and why student misconceptions persist. It’s a move that would place the Netherlands at the forefront of a global shift toward grounding teaching in the science of learning.
However, a recent academic review urges caution when it comes to evidence-informed education policy and its application to widespread teaching practices. In a paper released only last month (Van der Steen et al., 2025) researchers explored Dutch education policies covering the period 1985–2023 to determine how many measures had been grounded in the principles of evidence-informed education over that period. The findings were clear: despite decades of rhetoric around such reforms, very few Dutch education policies had in fact been based on robust scientific evidence.
The authors went on to show how decisions at the policy level have historically been shaped far more by politics and pragmatism than by research findings. This should serve as a sobering reminder that legislating for the use of evidence does not an evidence-informed system make. In reality, change at this scale comes not from a checklist of approved strategies, but rather an intersection of the best available research, the professional judgement of teachers, and the localized contexts within which such principles need to be applied with fidelity and coherence.
Despite these challenges, shoots of progress may be growing within the Dutch system.
In a paper released in September of this year (Jepma et al., 2024), researchers found that in Dutch schools where evidence-informed approaches had been adopted, educators reported not only improved student outcomes but increased feelings of professionalism, greater job satisfaction, and heightened autonomy. Teaching practices grounded in evidence, at least as far as these schools are concerned, can serve as a source of empowerment rather than a bureaucratic demand.
This also reinforces something that we have long known about change efforts in education: advances in teaching gain traction not when they are imposed, but when they are lived.
Maryland: A quiet pioneer in the United States
While the Netherlands considers the potential of a legislative commitment to evidence-informed schools and systems, Maryland has acted. The state has become the first in the Union to enshrine an evidence-informed understanding of learning science into law. By June 2026, all Maryland teachers will be expected to demonstrate foundational knowledge of how learning happens, and how research-based principles can impact their instruction.
To understand how the state arrived at this milestone, you need only look at what has been quietly happening for the past decade within one context in particular. Frederick County Public Schools, a 48,000-student district, began an experiment 10 years ago to integrate learning science principles systemically into the systems, structures, and practices of its some 70 schools.
Teachers were trained in learning science principles, grounded in evidence, such as cognitive load theory, retrieval practice, spaced repetition, and the role of prior knowledge. Leaders redesigned professional learning around research, and a host of District-wide processes from curriculum adoption to classroom observation and instructional coaching were infused with practices grounded in how students really learn.
During that period, the state saw impressive gains (The 74 Million, 2024, Maryland State Department of Education, 2024). Third-grade English Language Arts proficiency among students rose from 49.5% in 2018 to 60% in 2023. Among historically disadvantaged subgroups, proficiency in mathematics also rose. For instance, African-American third graders saw an increase from 38% in 2018 to 43.8% in 2023, and low-income third graders from 32% to 37.6% over the same period—even when accounting for pandemic-related learning loss.Though these findings are correlational, teachers (including those who were initially skeptical) testify that they have become enthusiastic advocates for the approach, and can point to the differences it has made in their day-to-day practice.
In no small part due to the efforts of Frederick County, Maryland has now launched one of the largest statewide professional-learning initiatives in the country, offering science of reading and learning-science training to more than 30,000 teachers and school leaders.
Maryland’s story illustrates something crucial: legislation is rarely the beginning of reform. It is typically the culmination of it. In this case, the law codified a decade of local experimentation, and in so doing took the boldest move yet to make the applied science of learning a norm rather than an exception.
Reasons for hope — and notes of caution
Taken together, the Netherlands and Maryland point toward what may become one of the defining educational movements of the next decade: the shift toward evidence-informed teaching. Both jurisdictions offer hopeful lessons, but they also highlight the potential pitfalls.
First, the movement is not about imposing a universal method. Evidence-informed practice works only when paired with professional judgment. Teachers must be able to adapt principles—not copy them—because learning science describes tendencies, not scripts.
Second, context matters. A strategy that works well in a Dutch Montessori-inspired school may look different in a multilingual Baltimore classroom. Evidence is not a substitute for understanding one's context, though it can compliment it to good effect.
Finally, implementation—not legislation—is where any reform succeeds or fails. Teachers need time, support, and collaborative spaces to make sense of research, they need leaders who understand that evidence informs practice but does not dictate it, and they need systems that respect the complexity of teaching rather than reducing it to an act of compliance.
Where the future May Lead
For now, the Netherlands and Maryland are, in a sense, testing grounds for the efficacy of evidence as applied to educational policy and practice. If they succeed at scale, they may demonstrate that policies calling for more evidence-informed teaching could serve as a renewal of educational professionalism—one that elevates teacher expertise by grounding it in a richer understanding of how learning happens, and culminating in transformational educational outcomes for all students.
Here’s hoping.
References
- Jepma, I., Willemsen, M., & Haagsman, A., with van den Berg, E., & de Groot, J. (2024, October 10). Kennisgedreven onderwijs: Onderzoek naar evidence-informed werken in het funderend onderwijs. Sardes / SEO Economisch Onderzoek. https://open.overheid.nl/documenten/c1576617-745d-4aa6-aaaf-4f213036318a/file
- Onderwijsraad. (2025). Denk mee over het gebruik van evidence in onderwijspraktijk en onderwijsbeleid. https://www.onderwijsraad.nl/adviezen/adviezen-in-voorbereiding/in-voorbereiding/evidence-in-onderwijspraktijk-en-onderwijsbeleid
- Van der Steen, M., et al. (2025). Evidence-based education policy in practice: The case of the Netherlands.
- The 74 Million. (2024). What happens when a 48K-student district commits to the science of learning.
- Maryland State Department of Education. (2024). Science of Reading and Learning Science Initiatives.
