This Backgrounder Brief is an executive summary of "Data-Driven Decision Making: Vision to Know and Do," a component of CoSN's Essential Leadership Skills Series. Collecting student achievement data is nothing new in schools. But for all of the data gathered, many schools remain information poor. Educators are challenged to understand…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Validity Studies Panel undertook a systematic analysis to consider the domain of validity threats to NAEP and to identify the most urgent research priorities. A framework of six broad categories was developed: (1) the constructs measured within each of NAEP's subject domains; (2) the manner in…

"Measuring Progress" is a resource for teachers to use as they plan and implement standards-based student assessment. Section 1 is an overview of how standards relate to assessing student technological literacy. Section 2 provides an approach to standards-based student assessment. Section 3 describes several assessment tools and methods. Section 4…

This guide discusses combining qualitative and quantitative research methods in theses and dissertations. It covers a wide array of methods, the strengths and limitations of each, and how they can be effectively interwoven into various research designs. The first chapter is "The Qualitative and the Quantitative." Part 1, "A…

The gaps in school achievement among racial and ethnic groups and between students from poor and nonpoor families are well documented. They are large, and have been persistent. This publication is about conditions that help create and perpetuate achievement gaps. It focuses on the many antecedents of differences in school achievement college-going…

This "Research Roundup" focuses on how schools can benefit when educational leaders use data to challenge their intuition and assumptions in their decision-making. In "Building an Automated Student Record System: A Step-by-Step Guide for Local and State Education Agencies," Barbara S. Clements provides administrators with a quick but comprehensive…

A methodological approach that emerged during the design of task-specific research rubrics to code large sets of open-ended survey data fills the void in scholarship about developing rubrics for research purposes. A brief rationale for using this method rather than other, often-used, data analysis methods is provided, with a description of the…

This research uses the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS) to examine student misbehavior in the context of individual, familial, and institutional influences. The NELS is the third longitudinal study of students and schools conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, and the NELS surveys encompass not only students…

This guide gives elementary school educators the tools they need to get answers to their questions about program evaluation. It shows how to use information to work more effectively and efficiently, and its explains how to use program evaluation techniques to make sure that the solutions selected truly solve the problems of interest. The first two…

This report summarizes efforts by the state of New York to ensure the accuracy and integrity of data reported by school districts. The Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) has taken the lead in reviewing these data, focusing on the uses of attendance and enrollment data and making recommendations for improvement in state systems and local…

This training manual introduces "Quality Analysis for Windows: A Verification Tool," personal computer software developed by the U.S. Department of Education to assist institutions of higher education in increasing the accuracy of student financial aid awards, improving campus verification procedures, and enhancing management…

The purpose of this paper was to refine an existing cognitive framework designed to characterize middle school students' statistical thinking. A case- study analysis was used to focus on two sub-processes of statistical thinking that were not adequately represented in the framework: students' use of multiplicative reasoning in analyzing data, and…

This paper discusses data mining--an end-to-end (ETE) data analysis tool that is used by researchers in higher education. It also relates data mining and other software programs to a brand new concept called "Knowledge Management." The paper culminates in the Tier Knowledge Management Model (TKMM), which seeks to provide a stable…

With clear and concrete examples from elementary and high schools, this book helps you effectively gather, analyze, and use data to improve student learning. It demonstrates how to make better decisions, identify root causes of problems, and communicate and report results.

At the March 2003 meeting, SBESE adopted the provisions identified by the School Finance Review Commission and incorporated these into the MFP formula resolution submitted to the legislature. During the 2003 Regular Session of the Legislature, the formula was introduced as House Concurrent Resolution number 235 (HCR 235) and subsequently approved.…