Legacy Programs and Archived Research
Over more than 60 years, the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) has led a wide range of research programs, tools, and initiatives. Many of these efforts were designed to address specific questions or needs and concluded after meeting their objectives.
This page explains how WCER manages legacy programs and how related materials are preserved and accessed.
Managing Legacy Content
WCER maintains its website to reflect current research, partnerships, and areas of expertise. As part of this ongoing process:
- Programs that are no longer active are removed from the public site
- Outdated or duplicative materials are retired
- Content tied to discontinued tools or platforms is no longer maintained
These updates help ensure that users can easily identify WCER’s current work and areas of active research.
Archiving and Preservation
WCER preserves historical materials in accordance with University of Wisconsin archiving policies. Content associated with concluded programs has been transferred to institutional archives for long-term access.
Archived materials may include:
- Project websites and documentation
- Research reports and technical materials
- Legacy tools and platforms
- Historical program descriptions
These resources are maintained for historical and research purposes but are not actively updated or supported.
Relationship to Current Research
Many legacy programs have contributed to WCER’s current research. Methods, findings, and collaborations developed through earlier work continue to inform ongoing studies in areas such as:
- Assessment and evaluation
- Learning sciences
- Education policy and systems
This continuity reflects WCER’s role in advancing research that informs education practice and policy over time.
Popular Archive Resources
The following articles are part of WCER’s historical archive and were originally published under a previous version of the website. Although these stories are not recent, they remain among the most visited and requested resources in our collection. We are pleased to preserve them here because they continue to offer insights, context, and value to the education research community. Readers should keep in mind that dates, data, and recommendations reflect the time in which each article was written.
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New Immersive Simulator Lets Game Players Reimagine Land Use Based on Real Science
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5 Obstacles That Stop Many Students From Taking an Internship
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Researcher Gloria Ladson-Billings on Culturally Relevant Teaching, the Role of Teachers
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Why It’s Wrong to Label Students “At-Risk”
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Value-Added Measurement: What It Is and Is Not
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Benefits and Drawbacks of Social Media in Education
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ELL Students Benefit from Formative Assessments
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CGI Math Encourages Ingenuity and Reasoning
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The Pros and Cons of “Holding Out”
Looking for a specific resources?
If you are searching for a specific program, tool, or publication:
- The resource may be available through the University of Wisconsin archival collections
- Related or updated research may be available through WCER publications or research areas
Users are encouraged to connect with WCER staff for questions about WCER’s research, partnerships, or archived materials.
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WCER welcomes inquiries from partners, researchers, policymakers, and community organizations.