Despite calls for research-based policies, other types of evidence also influence education policy, including personal experience, professional expertise, and normative values. This article focuses on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) initiative, examining how research use varied over stages of the process and how it was integrated with other…

In 2006, six community and technical colleges in Washington State joined the innovative national reform initiative called Achieving the Dream (ATD). This report describes the progress each college made in implementing ATD's "culture of evidence" principles for institutional improvement, examines strategies implemented by the colleges to…

Data use and decision-making--these two phrases have appeared together in probably hundreds of education articles and have been the topic of a host of presentations during the past decade. In addition, research studies have confirmed the importance of data-informed decision-making to school improvement. Thus, school leaders have found it makes…

The authors describe the University of Central Florida's top-down/bottom-up action analytics approach to using data to inform decision-making at the University of Central Florida. The top-down approach utilizes information about programs, modalities, and college implementation of Web initiatives. The bottom-up approach continuously monitors…

This report discusses the most relevant issues concerning using student test results in OECD countries. Initially the report provides an overview of how student test results are reported in OECD countries and how stakeholders in these countries use and perceive of the results. The report then reviews the literature relating to using student test…

Congress began funding the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) program in 1998 to stimulate whole school reform in low-achieving schools. Schools receiving CSRD funding are required to evaluate the reforms implemented and the student results achieved. In response to interest among educators and researchers, a national research…

A retrospective look at the Preservice Teacher Education Project shows both the benefits and shortcomings of the program. Involvement of institutions in this program indicates interest and need for support systems to help facilitate change in teacher education programs. (DF)

This document is a resource developed for educators trained in the Professional Learning Team (PLT) process by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL). The PLT process is a research-based model for effective schoolwide professional development that results in teachers changing their instructional practices. This publication provides…

A growing number of researchers are questioning the usefulness of reform strategies that do not provide teachers with specific information about how to implement changes. The replication of successful programs depends on giving teachers the tools they need to carry out reforms by explaining them in detail. (SLD)

As educators across the nation launch into frenzied efforts to "do something" in response to the various recommendations of commissions on educational excellence, many are forgetting that knowledge of how to implement change is available. This paper focuses on three concerns that educators must face when fitting general recommendations…

This paper presents a model for turning research findings into prescriptions for practical action. The model contains the following five interactive elements: (1) clear, understandable research knowledge; (2) relevant knowledge, which is seen as meaningful to normal life and concerns; (3) images of actions which exemplify the knowledge; (4) a will…

A study was conducted to describe some of the tools, techniques, and approaches that secondary school educators use to direct change activities. It presented early evidence of successful use of two sets of vocational education resource materials in 12 demonstration sites, 6 for each resource. The materials were "BASICS: Bridging Vocational and…

Local schools and school districts lack organized information on school effectiveness to select programs and practices to meet their specific program improvement and implementation needs. Critical program features, implementation and training requirements, program costs, program-delivery systems, program impacts, and a host of other relevant…

Research is the only enforcement tool provided for in the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child and is therefore the most realistic hope for real change. Some of the difficulties of research on children's rights are reviewed, considering methodology and interpretation. (SLD)

Describes the implementation of "Success for All," a reading program developed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, in an elementary school in an economically disadvantaged area of New York City. "Success for All" works successfully in this school, as in many others, because each of its elements is a proven, effective,…