Despite calls for research-based policies, other types of evidence also influence education policy, including personal experience, professional expertise, and normative values. This article focuses on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) initiative, examining how research use varied over stages of the process and how it was integrated with other…

Introduces the articles of this theme issue, which cover a wide variety of questions and problems relevant to research using findings of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). The articles have in common that most try to determine the degree to which certain factors influence student achievement. The focus is on five…

Contends that, although surveys of international achievement have been of interest to the U.S. educational community, these studies are now receiving attention among policymakers. Asserts that significant changes are occurring in world economy and that international achievement comparisons are receiving coverage in the U.S. media. (CFR)