While designs of professional learning have expanded exponentially beyond the required-attendance inservice day workshop model, infusing meaningful data into daily decisions and conversations has not gained as much traction. Leaders of professional learning are increasingly coming under pressure to demonstrate that evidence is not an anathema in…

In spring 2013, the Washington Center administered a national survey to find what campuses assessed when they assessed their learning community programs, how they assessed those outcomes, and what they did with the results. Sixty-six campuses responded to the survey. Most campuses assess at least one measure of student success (pass rates, course…

Discussions about improving public education often focus on outcomes without considering how schools and districts can accomplish those outcomes. Research shows that using a continuous improvement process has proven successful in healthcare, manufacturing, and technology, and may hold potential for use in education as well. This brief defines and…

The United States has experienced tremendous growth in the development of coaching initiatives including professional training programs, state endorsements and resources for coaches. These developments bring attention to the potential for coaching to improve education. They also raise the question of how best to facilitate implementation in local…

To examine the impact of program evaluation information upon decision making, case studies were conducted of five different programs: (1) a diagnostic teaching kindergarten program (K-LEAD), funded under the Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I; (2) Project MORE, an ESEA Title IV-C funded junior high school program dealing with school…

This is the final report of the Reading Research Utilization Project (RUP) which was funded by the U.S. Office of Education from July, 1971 to June, 1973. The purpose of the RUP was to encourage the translation of research, particularly reading research, into practice in 16 target elementary schools in Washington, D.C. RUP was a school information…

A conference on Increasing the Use of Promising Practices Information by Local Educational Agencies was held at the National Institute of Education (NIE) July 14-16, 1974. The recommendations developed at the conference focus on identified needs for: a clear definition of the term promising practices; a leadership role by NIE; a plan of action to…

The dilemmas faced by the educational research community generally raise important implications for the new National Institute of Education. Pressing social problems require immediate solution, however, demands for immediate results in the complex problem areas of education may lead to incompletely conceived programs and sloppy scholarship.…

This document presents tools and guidelines to help practitioners transform their high schools into institutions facilitating community-connected learning. The approach underpinning the tools and guidelines is based on the following principles: academic rigor and relevance; personalized learning; self-passage to adulthood; and productive learning…