Primary research in education and social sciences is marked by a diversity of methods and perspectives. How can we accommodate and reflect such diversity at the level of synthesizing research? What are the critical methodological decisions in the process of a research synthesis, and how do these decisions open up certain possibilities, while…

Synthesizes research on standards-based reforms and accountability, with specific attention to purposes, models, and methods of inquiry. Concludes that research on reforms has been largely nonsystemic in design and has failed to help individual schools, school systems, and statewide systems develop. (SLD)