In this article we seek to promote a deeper understanding of the value of universal intervention research in education as well as other fields and to call for greater interdisciplinary learning and discourse. Our goal is to deepen the conversation regarding how to build a stronger research orientation toward longitudinal, population-level outcomes in education and mental health. After highlighting the value of universal approaches targeting entire populations and their relevance to education, we raise issues regarding the traditional benchmarks of efficacy when applied to universal intervention trials and suggest alternative metrics for judging the impact of universal approaches. We conclude with lessons based on exemplar studies to help shape future research and policy regarding universal interventions. (author abstract)