This essay offers a framework for broader community involvement as a means of increasing the relevance and usefulness of evidence developed. This essay begins by defining key concepts related to democratizing the development of evidence. The sections that follow outline a logic model that calls for a bidirectional, iterative set of core activities…

This paper provides the first population-based evidence on how much standardized test scores vary among public school districts within each state and how segregation explains that variation. Using estimates based on roughly 300 million test score records in math and English Language Arts (ELA) for Grades 3 through 8 from every U.S. public school…

Sexual minorities' risk for exclusionary discipline is a commonly cited indicator of the challenges that these students face. The current study addresses this issue by introducing a new data source for research on sexual minority students: the Fragile Families and Childhood Wellbeing Study. In this geographically diverse, population-based sample,…

We reply to three critiques regarding our reporting that White, English-speaking children are much more likely than otherwise similar racial, ethnic, and language minority children to receive special education services in the United States. We show how each critique is unsound. We present further evidence of the robustness of our findings.

This study examines the structuring of university-community research partnerships that facilitate theoretically grounded research while also generating findings that community partners find actionable. We analyze one partnership that positions university-based researchers as members of a team working to create, maintain, and use a longitudinal…

Collaborative intellectual engagement is held in high regard in contemporary educational thought as a pedagogical practice of broad value to K-12 students. To what extent is this enthusiasm warranted? Is the practice uniformly productive, or does variability exist in the contexts in which collaboration is effective, the mechanisms involved, and…

This article investigates the extent to which researchers are currently engaged in a shared research program that offers systematic evidence of the classroom impact of organized venues (preservice as well as inservice) for teacher professional learning. The article stems from concern about policies rooted in suspicion that teacher education is…

The role that racial identity plays in the well-being, educational achievement, and life outcomes of Black youth has received tremendous attention from the early post-slavery years right up until today, and remains a surprisingly contested area of study. We call for the examination of why images of Black racial identity as "damaged" and…

An unwillingness to consider empirical evidence that contradicts one's desired conclusion, or science denial, is an enormous barrier to producing an informed citizenry. This essay explores literature on conceptual change and motivation to put forth fresh ideas on how curricula can foster science acceptance, or the willingness to engage in critical…

In this paper, student-level indicators of opportunity to learn (OTL) included in the 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment are used to explore the joint relationship of OTL and socioeconomic status (SES) to student mathematics literacy. Using multiple methods, we find consistent evidence that (a) OTL has a significant relationship…

Experimental and quasi-experimental designs are used in educational research to establish causality and develop effective practices. These research designs rely on a counterfactual model that, in simple form, calls for a comparison between a treatment group and a control group. Developers of educational practices often assume that the population…

Skidmore and Thompson (this issue of "Educational Researcher") imply that a graph was changed with the intent to promote more experimental research in education. In this response, the author presents evidence that challenges this implication and concludes that the changed graph does not accurately capture the "declining" trend of experimental…

The authors argue for a reconceptualization of rigor that requires sustained, direct, and systematic documentation of what takes place inside programs to document how students and teachers change and adapt interventions in interactions with each other in relation to their dynamic local contexts. Building on promising new programs at the Institute…

Over the last decade, teacher evaluation has moved onto center stage in efforts to strengthen schooling. In this article, we address the question of whether focusing on this administrative process is likely to accomplish what reformers hope. We answer that question by examining the available evidence, both direct and indirect. We deepen the…

Through an analysis of relevant social science evidence, this article provides a deeper understanding of critical mass, a concept that has become central in litigation efforts related to affirmative action admissions policies that seek to further the educational benefits of diversity. We demonstrate that the concept of critical mass requires an…