Evaluators report effects of education initiatives as standardized effect sizes, a scale that has merits but obscures interpretation of the effects' practical importance. Consequently, educators and policymakers seek more readily interpretable translations of evaluation results. One popular metric is the number of years of learning necessary to…

In the current article, we consider the influential position of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and discuss several methodological areas that demonstrate the need for caution when using and interpreting PISA results. We motivate our argument by briefly describing the program's increased influence in educational policy…

Data-driven decision making has become increasingly important in education. Policymakers require educators to use data to inform practice. Although the policy emphasis is growing, what has not increased is attention to building human capacity around data use. Educators need to gain data literacy skills to inform practice. Although some…

The National Early Literacy Panel (2008) report identified early predictors of reading achievement as good targets for instruction, and many of those skills are related to decoding. In this article, the authors suggest that the developmental trajectories of rapidly developing skills pose problems for traditional statistical analyses. Rapidly…

Research syntheses are appealing because they enable decision makers to determine quickly whether policies, programs, and practices will have effects on student achievement and, if so, the magnitudes of the likely effects. Such syntheses should present objective, clear, scientifically accurate, and defensible evidence in terms that educators can…

Traditional methods for preparing systematic reviews and syntheses of effectiveness studies rely on a limited set of methodological criteria to include studies that measure and report effects too narrowly to forward the mission of evidence-based practice. This article discusses why and how the criteria for study selection, evidence screening, and…

To ensure accurate interpretation of research findings, researchers should report details about their research design, data collection method, and response rates when presenting findings from survey research. A review of 100 peer-reviewed articles reporting the results of survey research on K-12 schools with principals as the designated…

Notes the need for researcher accountability in qualitative analysis, examining strategies used in working with doctoral students and offering suggestions for assessing and publicly disclosing the methodological rigor and analytical defensibility of qualitative research. Introduces tabular strategies for use in documenting the relationship between…

In educational research, rigid distinctions between the relative merits of quantitative research often rest on positivistic dogma. In contrast, post-positivistic thought eliminates the intractable problem engendered by positivistic epistemology of a forced choice between value-laden and value-free research methods. (KH)

Questions the adequacy with which the giftedness construct is defined in applied educational settings, and the adequacy of the validation data available for these gifted identification procedures. (Author/BJV)

Examines data on racial identification from the 2000 Census to document the mixed race population of children in the United States. Using California data as an example, the article considers various methods for tabulating multiple-response race data, noting the impact of each on demographic conclusions. Discusses how federal guidelines on race…

Relativism is an inevitable consequence of our interpretive mode of being in the world. This is so for both our daily lives and our professional lives. What does not overly concern us at the former level should likewise not concern us at the latter level. (Author/BJV)

Describes tools for measuring content of instruction, content of instructional materials, and alignment between them, reporting findings about use of these tools and possible additional uses for research and practice. Asserts that the validity of data produced using these tools is good. Sketches an agenda for future work to improve the quality and…

Triangulation strategy results in evidence characterized by the following: (1) convergence; (2) inconsistency; and (3) contradiction. In order to render the data sensible, the researcher or evaluator must report data collection procedures, as well as the three levels of information from which explanations of social phenomena are constructed. (BJV)

Dismissing research that is not theory driven, hypothesis testing, or generalization producing does injustice to the variety of contributions that qualitative research can make. Studies conducted through qualitative approaches are reviewed to summarize the desirable outcomes that can result. No research model has a monopoly on quality. (SLD)