The Every Student Succeeds Act builds on prior efforts to bridge the gap between research and practice through the imposition of evidence requirements. This article presents findings from a small-scale micro-process study of three districts in one state during their first year of implementing those requirements. Informed by past conceptualizations…

Despite claims that we now live in a post-truth society, it remains commonplace for policy makers to consult research evidence to increase the robustness of decision making. Few scholars of evidence-policy interfaces, however, have used legislatures as sites of study, despite the fact that they play a critical role in modern democracies. There is…

The Every Student Succeeds Act grants states new flexibility to create more balanced assessment systems with a greater role for formative assessment. Drawing on lessons learned over three decades of research and reform, we argue that state and local leaders should take the lead in designing new assessments guided by two core principles: First,…

The importance of collecting and using data for educational decision making is clear. However, little information has been gathered about the systematic collection and use of data in early childhood. The purpose of this study was to explore teacher perceptions of data collection practices in early childhood. Participants included 137 early…

School district leaders are faced with numerous decisions in the administration of America's schools. One crucial decision that must be made is the selection of elementary reading or math curricular materials. The curricular materials purchased for classroom use are often influential in determining instructional practices and often guide the…

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation is an important policy intervention aimed at changing school, district, and state department of education policies and practices to improve student outcomes. These efforts are compromised because NCLB does not prioritize the conditions necessary for improving academic outcomes. One such necessary condition…

"When Research Matters" considers the complex and crucially important relationship between education research and policy. In examining how and under what conditions research affects education policy, the book focuses on a number of critical issues: the history of the federal role in education policy; the evolving nature of educational…

Presents an account of the Mondale Initiative, i.e., an attempt during the period from 1967-73 to develop a national system of social indicators to improve social policy. The role of social scientists in national decision making and policy formation is examined, and a legislative history of the Mondale Initiative is appended. (51 references) (LRW)

Social science research does not fit well, either in its execution or in its results, with the organizational structure and the time requirements for decision making in the federal administrative system. Different organization of research for procedural questions and policy issues could eliminate this ill-timing. (Author/KR)

In 2002, the RAND Corporation launched a project to understand how educators are responding to the new accountability requirements in California, Georgia, and Pennsylvania--three states that represent a range of approaches, regions, and student populations. The researchers aimed to identify the factors that enhance the implementation of SBA…

The role of policy research on federal aid to college students is considered. Attention is directed to the contributions of research to the origins of federal policies in the 1960s and the later expansion of benefits to middle-income students. In addition, recent research on the effects of student aid is reviewed, and the outlook for…

Twenty-six congressional staff members dealing with educational legislation were surveyed concerning their sources of information and the relative importance and value of educational inquiry in various stages of the policy process. Conclusions were drawn and recommendations regarding improvement of the process were made. (MH)

Although social policy makers and researchers assume that research is a major part of the information base upon which policy decisions are made, social policy is by nature incompatible with the organizational structure and time requirements for decision making in an administrative system. Whereas social policy decisions are timed in accordance…