When students, parents, educators, and partners have the right information to make decisions, students excel. By forming research partnerships, state education agencies (SEAs), policymakers, practitioners, and education researchers at universities and other research institutes can work together to use research to provide the best education…

Policymakers across the nation are leading efforts to ensure that every classroom has an effective teacher. Faced with the need to dramatically improve student outcomes, states have embraced a policy agenda that promotes and supports teacher quality in many ways, including developing evaluation and compensation policies, targeting professional…

As state policymakers strive to ensure that every student is taught by an effective teacher and is ready for college and 21st-century careers, they must also make drastic budget cuts. States cannot do more with less without collecting and using quality data to determine which programs and policies increase student achievement and the state's…

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…

Data are only useful if people are able to access, understand and use them. Without access to the right information, stakeholders are forced to make decisions based on anecdote, experience or instinct. For information to be useful, it must be timely, readily available, and easy to understand. This brief highlights the importance of implementing…

America can no longer afford an education system that fails to use data effectively to guide decisionmaking. The education sector is facing ever-increasing demands to improve student outcomes, reduce burden, increase efficiency, and improve transparency. These demands cannot be met without the strategic and effective use of data. Due to the…

State education data systems have often been described as data rich but information poor. Historically, these systems were created for compliance purposes and, therefore, designed and managed as information technology projects, but a culture change is under way. Educators and other stakeholders are beginning to value data as a tool to inform…

This report reviews the 1980 activities of the Educational Dissemination Studies Program (EDSP), which is designed to (1) establish efficient means of communication for analyzing, monitoring, and communicating the status, needs, and accomplishments of educational dissemination performers; (2) increase the quality of and access to knowledge…

In the 2002-2003 academic year, a series of roundtable discussions was conducted to explore uses of data from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) for the improvement of student learning. This paper reports on one roundtable, held in June 2003 in Seattle, Washington. Participants included campus officers responsible for student…

The study of knowledge production and utilization deals with the problems of how to translate theoretical concepts and knowledge into practical solutions to people's problems. Many criticisms have been leveled at aspects of previous information system models, including their linearity, one-way communication paths, overdependence on scientific…

A dissemination conference on occupational research in Texas focused on research completed during the past two years, research in progress, and newly funded research projects for fiscal year 1980. Among the presenters were L. Millard Collins, who spoke on the importance of research and communication problems; Alton Ice, who spoke on the need to…

During the 2002-2003 academic year, six roundtables were held to explore uses of the data from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) for improvement of student learning. This paper describes the roundtable discussion held in Kentucky in December 2002. This roundtable focused on ways the NSSE can contribute to state-level efforts on…

Based on information gathered from over 100 Administration on Aging-supported research, this report documents some of the products and uses of research sponsored by the Administration on Aging and supported with funds provided under Title IV-B of the Older Americans Act. Following an introductory sketch of its products, uses and users, statistics…

Suggestions for broadening the utilization of evaluation research findings are discussed. Major program changes, based on evaluation, may not become obvious for several years; program actions may contradict findings and still be based on rational decision making processes; evaluation findings may have far-reaching effects which were not recognized…

Research on the use of knowledge resources in school improvement efforts explores the ways in which new ideas, programs, practices, materials, and technologies become incorporated into the operations of the nation's elementary and secondary schools, and examines the changes these organizations undergo in the process. Attempts at disseminating…