According to this author, when it comes to data-based decision making, many educators are looking in the wrong place. This is one reason why this potentially powerful practice has too often under-delivered. Many schools rush headlong into analyzing data without considering if the data they are reviewing is worth the effort, if other data might provide greater insight to opportunities for improvement, or if shining the light elsewhere might prove more beneficial. Benjamin suggests that the use of Evidence-Based Decision Making will increase the odds that education improvement efforts will be successful. Data can lead to knowledge, knowledge to right action, and action to improvement, the type that should most concern teachers, principals, and students; the type that can truly fuel their improvement efforts. Using evidence effectively requires that educators become smarter about the relative importance and value of various data (based on the research), selecting high-quality measures, providing meaningful time for teachers to collaborate regarding their data, translating knowledge into strategies for improvement, using action research techniques to determine if strategies deliver continuous improvement, and linking all of this with professional development, evaluation, reward, and recognition.