As schools turn to data-driven decision making to improve student achievement, research is playing an increasingly important role in local policy making. Researchers have worked to help policy makers better "understand" research with a focus on research design and method. How to better "use" research, however, has received little attention. This article discusses five issues concerning interpreting and applying research: (a) Not all research results are applicable to local setting; (b) there is a fundamental difference between sample-based and population-based research; (c) statistical results are educated guesses, not decisive answers; (d) statistically significant results are not everything; and (e) research results are just one source of evidence. This article provides school and district administrators with a new perspective for interpreting and applying research; as a result, policy makers may feel empowered to ask more from researchers.