Describes a university-based suite of "grass-roots," research-oriented indicator systems that are subscribed to, voluntarily, by about 1 in 3 secondary schools, and more than 4,000 primary schools in England and some in New Zealand, Australia, and Hong Kong. These cost-effective systems rely on technical excellence to make accurate data…

Explores the relationship of social science research to social policy making, stressing that social science models and research findings are largely irrelevant to the actual concerns of policymakers and noting the ways in which ideological factors mediate the process. (SLD)