The four case examples presented in this brief are drawn from the Gardner Center's substantial experience conducting rigorous research in research-practice partnerships. The first case describes a partnership approach that enhances a school district's capacity to use integrated longitudinal data to tackle persistent problems of practice and…

ED"Facts" is an initiative of the U. S. Department of Education to base education policy on reliable performance data provided by state education agencies. Among its many data items, ED"Facts" houses school-level counts of students disaggregated by state-defined student economic status, typically free and reduced-price lunch…

What happens when teams from 57 cities building afterschool systems gather to discuss two key system responsibilities--improving afterschool programs and using data for informed decision-making? Lots of rich discussion. This report covers a national afterschool conference held in February 2013. It details what mayors, program providers, system…

Critically reviews the preceding article by Lapointe and Koffler. Suggests that many of these authors' recommendations for program improvement need qualification. (GC)

The utility of the federally funded National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is often unclear, and critics have claimed that NAEP is not used. This paper summarizes an exploratory study of evidence against these claims, including that data are most useful to audiences with a national perspective. (Author/CM)

This paper originated as part of the early phases of internal planning within the National Institute for Education (NIE). A status study was conducted of the existing system of educational research and development (R&D) which (1) provided a framework of information as an initial context for framing policy and (2) examined a major mandate,…

Major categories of national higher education data are outlined and descriptions and sources are provided for over 50 databases. Categories include institutional descriptors, enrollments/completions, student demography, student longitudinal data, financial aid, institutional financial support, tuition/fees, faculty/staff salaries and benefits,…

Recommendations from the Wirtz/Lapointe report, "Measuring The Quality of Education" (ED 213 769), which evaluates National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), are presented. Six educators respond to the concern that NAEP's reports and material are not widely known or as useful to educators as they should be. (CM)

In this report the various economic indicators of the extent and value of scientific and technical information transfer in Canada in government, industry, and education are described and expressed in quantitative terms derived from available statistical figures. The main thesis of the report is that the transfer of scientific and technical…

The role of information about education in the development of education around the world is considered in this book. The volume begins by examining the needs of various categories of educators for information, the uses to which such information can be put, the processes and reasons for generating and recording information, and the methods and…

Canada can not afford to have valuable information restricted to a few users or to have it lie dormant and unused. A freer flow of information could reduce duplication and unnecessary research and will expedite innovation. Modern methods of storage, retrieval, and dissemination could be utilized to provide information that is timely, appropriate…

Presents the generalized conclusions from analytical case studies undertaken by UNESCO and the United Nations Interim Fund for Science and Technology for Development (IFSTD) on the needs and options for access to scientific and technical information in eight developing countries. (Author/JL)

Describes the creation and objectives of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), and reviews the findings of an evaluation of the NAEP, published in "Measuring the Quality of Education," by Wirtz and Lapointe. Focuses on the role that the NAEP can play in establishing uniform, national educational standards. (GC)

An ad hoc task group was constituted by the Committee on Scientific and Technical Information (COSATI) to: (1) delineate present and future issues issues for COSATI, (3) recommend additions or deletions in the present copyright law or in the pending revision now in Congress, and (4) recommend other short or long-term actions related to authorship…

The program purpose of the Dissemination and Resources Group of the National Institute of Education is to improve dissemination and use of knowledge for solving educational problems and to study, evaluate, and improve the capabilities of institutions and individuals to produce and use knowledge in improving education. The principal strategies for…