The purpose of this report is to comment on practice in the use of existing data bases in program evaluation and school improvement and to explore directions of increased and improved use. The report's impetus is the role that existing data plays in current efforts in local school districts and the possibilities for the future. To a great extent, however, we will have to rely on experiences from other areas of social inquiry outside of education and on national and state practices (rather than local) in education. The record of local district practice in maintaining and using data archives is limited to date while extended, multipurpose secondary data examination is commonplace elsewhere. Nonetheless, we assume that the current state of affairs in information maintenance and use in local districts is more a happenstance of competing priorities for economic and human resources and limited technical expertise and support than a conscious judgment that current practices exhaust the benefits that might accrue. (Author)