Plenty of money for studies; why not for solutions?

I am really amazed how every day there's another headline in the education media about some study examining this-or-such issue.  Today from EducationWeek alone:

Study: Phys. Ed., Recess Mandates Boost School Physical-Activity Time
Study Tallies a District's Return on Investment
Poor Schools Found to Get Shortchanged
Study Finds Only 13 State Laws Address Off-Campus Bullying
A new study takes a close look at how Hispanic students in urban school systems are faring compared with their non-Hispanic white peers

...and many more articles that reference studies.

These studies all cost money.  So, at a time where we continually hear how strapped education is for funds, where are the funds for these studies coming from?

Well, from various sources.  Independent monies, foundations, universities and colleges. From the government; the US Department of Education is a big supporter, both financially and otherwise, of studies. Special interest groups also have a vested interest in many of these studies, both in terms of financial support and otherwise. Money seems to flow in from the four corners when there's a study to be funded!

The irony is that, while there's apparently always money to fund a study, actually doing something about the problem or situation being studied isn't quite as easy. Take for example:

"Funding a Problem for Va. Virtual Schools"

So we have a study to explore the issue of funding for these virtual schools. Conclusion: funding for the actual schools is a problem, but funding for the study apparently wasn't. This study was conducted by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, listed as "a Virginia-based nonpartisan research group."

Moreover, I find that frequently the conclusions published in the study are something we pretty much already knew.  Perhaps we didn't know the exact number or percentage, but we already had a good handle on the issue to be studied.

Here are a couple that should be interesting:

"Substance Abuse Greater Problem Among Rural Youth" (Nov 30, 2011)

Conclusion: Substance abuse is a bigger problem among rural youth than among their non-rural peers, with rural teens having higher rates of alcohol consumption and usage of drugs such as cocaine, marijuana, and heroin. And that problem is influenced in part by rural communities limited expectations for students' futures, according to a new study.

Well, we probably could have predicted that, right? When you have lowered expectations for your future, what else is there to do but escape through drugs and alcohol?

"Youth Soccer 'Headers' May Lead to Brain Injuries, Study Suggests" (November 29, 2011)

Conclusion: Athletes who often "head" soccer balls were found to have brain abnormalities similar to those found in patients with traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), according to a study being presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.

My goodness, that came out of left-field (to mix my sports-related metaphors)! When we are coached by pediatricians and other experts that we need to take any bump on the head that our kids experience as potentially serious, why in heck are we now teaching them the fine art of "headers" in soccer?  I guess deliberately hitting the ball with your head is less risky than an accidental blow to the head by a ball?

I liken these kinds of studies to the government-mandated label on the jar of peanuts that says: "Caution: May contain peanuts."  Really?

But, then there are the ones that REALLY get to me, because I wonder how much better it would have been if the money that went into the study actually was allocated to solutions.  Here's one recent headline that got me riled:

"Bullying Climate Linked to Lower Test Scores, Study Suggests" (August 12, 2011)

Conclusion: Bullying can affect a student's academic performance, but a school's bullying climate may be linked with lower overall test scores, a study finds.

The study, presented recently at the American Psychological Assn.'s recent annual convention in Washington, D.C., surveyed 7,304 ninth-grade students and 2,918 teachers who were randomly chosen from 284 high schools in Virginia. Students and teachers were asked about incidents of bullying and teasing at the school. Ninth-grade students were chosen because researchers felt this first year of high school was a critical adjustment period, and because poor test scores in this grade may be linked with a higher drop-out rate.

Now, here's several reasons why I have a MAJOR issue with this study:

How much do you think it cost to study nearly 10,000 individuals in Virginia alone?
Is this information something we didn't previously know?  Absolutely NOT. We have studied this problem ad nauseam and we know, for example, that over 160,000 kids miss school each and every day because of bullying. And those are only the ones we know that 'fess up to bullying being the reason. We have done study after study that shows bullying, anti-social behavior, respect has an effect on test scores. Did we really need another one to tell us what we already knew? One quote from Dewey Cornell, University of Virginia psychologist was quoted in one report of the study that:

"[he] and his colleagues theorize that bullying could distract students who are more worried about surviving the day than passing a test. Alternatively, schools with more bullies might be more dysfunctional in general. Teachers might also be distracted from classroom time by having to discipline bullies."

"...theorize?"  They "theorize?"  Seriously...did it take this much money and time to jump to that far-fetched conclusion?

 Did this study move us closer to the goal of addressing the problem? No. I don't see how this study has miraculously made more dollars available to Virginia schools to now do something with this breaking news. Schools routinely state as a reason they don't do more about bullying that they simply can't afford it.  So, instead of spending all this money on studies that continue to reaffirm what we already know, why are we not applying those funds to solutions?

I just don't understand it. Perhaps I'm missing some key element that justifies why more and varied studies are really making a difference? If so, I'd love for someone to enlighten me.  I know it's important to understand an issue and a problem, but then the next logical step is for us to take action to DO something with that information.  Information is there to be used; it shouldn't just stand there on a shelf making us feel good because the end-result report weighs 3.5 lbs.

I guess this is where the phrase analysis paralysis comes from.  Or, is it from somewhere else?  Maybe I need to do a study to figure out where it comes from, what it means, and why it continues to proliferate. I'm pretty sure I can get that funded.

For more on effective solutions to the problem of bullying and other anti-social behavior, click http://cyberbullyingsolutions.com/order/ to view the free preview of "7 Steps to Eliminating Bullying in Schools, an Inside-Out Approach" or order the on-demand webinar.