The field of education is progressively building capacity and tools for producing rigorous research evidence to use in improving educational practice and outcomes. The knowledge base is lacking, however, in explicating the dynamics of research-based decision making and exploring connections between the work of research-practice partnerships and…

The current educational policy climate in the USA places immense pressure on school district central offices to use evidence to inform their decisions in order to improve student learning. In light of both the expectations of evidence-based decision making and the significance of central offices in supporting teaching and learning, there is…

Coburn and Turner (this issue) present an intriguing framework for understanding how data has come to be used in the current high accountability environments in education. In this framework, they connect various processes of data use within organizational and political contexts. Data use is presented using an ecological perspective that deepens…

Despite the growing volume of research on data use systems or data use activities in which teachers engage, micro-process studies--investigations of what teachers and others actually do under the broad banner of "data use" or "evidence-based decision making"--remain substantially underdeveloped. Starting with a review of the…

In recent years, interest has spiked in data-driven decision making in education--that is, using various types of student data to inform decisions in schools and classrooms. In October 2008, the Council of the Great City Schools and American Institutes for Research (AIR) launched a project funded by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that focused…

A variety of interventions have been attempted in education and other fields to increase the use of research use in policy and practice. However, there is still limited research on the impact of these interventions. This paper uses survey and qualitative data to analyze three interventions designed to increase research use among secondary school…

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…

This study describes certified rehabilitation counselors' attitudes (n=163) about evidence based practice, knowledge and skills related to obtaining and evaluating evidence, use of literature in practice, availability of information, and perceived barriers to evidence-based practice. Responses related to knowledge and skills were mixed with strong…

In recent years, interest has spiked in data-driven decision making in education--that is, using various types of student data to inform decisions in schools and classrooms. In October 2008, the Council of the Great City Schools and American Institutes for Research (AIR) launched a project funded by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that focused…

This report discusses the most relevant issues concerning using student test results in OECD countries. Initially the report provides an overview of how student test results are reported in OECD countries and how stakeholders in these countries use and perceive of the results. The report then reviews the literature relating to using student test…

District central office administrators increasingly face policy demands to use "evidence" in their decision making. These demands up the ante on education policy researchers and policy makers to better understand what evidence use in district central offices entails and the conditions that may support it. To that end, the authors conducted a…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 places a strong emphasis on the use of student achievement test scores to measure school performance, and, throughout the United States, school and district education reform efforts are increasingly focusing on the use of student achievement data to make decisions about curriculum and instruction. To encourage…

This study demonstrates how value-added research undertaken at the local education authority (LEA) is used directly by heads and teachers in their efforts to raise standards in schools. It draws on a decade of experience of supporting schools in the effective use of performance data for school self-improvement. The article highlights the various…

The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) was commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) to conduct a study of primary, secondary and special maintained schools in England to assess the use of data in teaching and learning. The study sought to identify how data is used to promote learning in primary, middle,…