This article provides clear and practical guidelines for researchers seeking to use national secondary datasets to conduct evidence-based research. Drawing from our own experiences, we discuss a six-step research process model (Bryan et al., 2010, 2017) to help researchers navigate the use of these datasets. We present examples from the school…

Purpose: School leaders are critical to organizational change and school improvement, particularly through their role in facilitating teacher development. Yet the literature is thin regarding the extent to which various sources of evidence influence school leaders' decisions and regarding conditions that may shape differences in school leader…

What if there was a better way to collect and interpret assessment data that could strengthen the link between teaching and learning? "Student Assessment: Better Evidence, Better Decisions, Better Learning" is the innovative guide to show you how it is done and done right. This unique book offers a new assessment model focused on…

This systematic review examines the extent to which educational policy and practice in Turkey are informed by research evidence. Drawing on national and international literature, the review explores the theoretical foundations of evidence-based policymaking, the current status of research-informed policy in Turkey, and the challenges faced in…

A recent issue of the Australian Journal of Language and Literacy included an article reporting on a systematic narrative review of the research literature that indicated that there was insufficient evidence to conclude whether genre theory and systemic functional linguistics either 'worked' or 'did not work'. The criteria used to evaluate these…

Adapting interventions based on learner progress is paramount to the effectiveness of interventions in special education and applied behavior analysis. Although there is some research on effective methods for training practitioners to make general instructional decisions (e.g., modify an intervention) based on graphed performance data, research on…

Data-based decision making (DBDM) is a process of using student data to inform instructional decisions and intensify intervention for students whose data indicate inadequate academic and behavioral progress. Data teams, an important structure for DBDM, are a collaborative group of school faculty who meet to systematically analyze student data,…

Evidence-based policymaking can transform the delivery of education services, restore public trust in schools, and improve outcomes for students. It can cut through the noise of political and cultural divisions and give decision makers clarity on how to prioritize the use of limited resources. And it can help build a shared understanding of where…

It may seem obvious, but learning should never be implied or assumed. Learning must be explicit, evaluated and monitored; the impact of teaching on student learning should be visible. But how can we be sure? Armed with years of research that includes more than 2,100 meta-analyses, and 130,000 studies that include more than 300 million…

In Ireland, as elsewhere, there has been growing recognition around the importance of using research evidence to inform educational policy and practice at both a national government and individual school level. Despite such importance, there is currently a dearth of empirical, peer-reviewed studies regarding the use of research evidence in the…

Many students in the upper elementary grades and beyond uniquely struggle with reading comprehension, necessitating explicit instruction and remediation in this area. This U.S. study used data-based decision-making (DBDM), a research-based systematic approach to student data collection and analysis, to intensify the evidence-based Strategies for…

Government agencies collect vast amounts of administrative data in their day-to-day activities, primarily for program operations. But the information is less often used as a research tool or fully harnessed for its evidence-building potential. This brief is the fourth in a series of publications from MDRC about the Temporary Assistance for Needy…

"Tell me about your research." How does one begin to convey the importance of our life's work--our research? Enter stage right, Research-based Theatre, an innovative, arts-based methodology that takes research data and brings it to life, by showing, rather than telling. In this article, we tell the story of how Research-based Theatre…

Data-based decision-making (DBDM) using curriculum-based measurement (CBM) data has demonstrated effectiveness in improving academic achievement for students with or at risk for learning disability. Despite substantial evidence supporting DBDM, its use is not common practice for many educators, even those who regularly collect CBM data. One…

Background: To improve the use of evidence in policy and practice, many organisations and individuals seek to promote research-policy engagement activities, but little is known about what works. Aims and objectives: We sought (a) to identify existing research-policy engagement activities, and (b) evidence on impacts of these activities on research…