Making evidence-based decisions in schools seems like an impossible task when hundreds of activities are available, the evidence base fails to address most of them, and budget deadlines are immovable. In addition, different stakeholders hold different views on what it means for a program, strategy, or intervention to "work." Fiona…

Under both No Child Left Behind and the Every Student Succeeds Act, school leaders have been mandated to employ data-driven decision-making (DDDM) to diagnose student needs, implement targeted supports, and design school improvements. However, district administrators tasked with developing principals' DDDM capacity face a tough road. The authors…

Although successful dropout assistance programs depend on effective implementation, casework, and long-term followup activities, the literature only occasionally addresses these practices. This article reviews data collection problems, major risk factors, reforms aimed at actual and potential dropouts, and alternative school programs. Second…