Description
Book SynopsisWritten by two leading experts in education research and policy,
Common-Sense Evidence is a concise, accessible guide that helps education leaders find and interpret data and research, and then put that knowledge into action.
In the book, Nora Gordon and Carrie Conaway empower educators to address the federal Every Student Succeeds Act mandate that schools use evidence-based improvement strategies. Recommendations include utilizing existing research; generating evidence on the success of their own improvement efforts; and building an organizational culture of evidence use.
The authors walk readers through the processes for determining whether research is relevant and convincing; explain useful statistical concepts; and show how to quickly search for and scan research studies for the necessary information.
The book directs readers through case studies of typical scenarios including a superintendent trying to reduce chronic absenteeism; a middle school math department chair trying to improve student performance on exams; and a chief state school officer attempting to recruit teachers for rural schools.
Common-Sense Evidence helps education leaders build capacity for evidence-based practice in their schools and districts.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1 Turn Problems of Practice into Research Questions
- 2 Know Where to Find Useful Research Fast
- 3 Determine How Relevant and Convincing the Research Is
- 4 Understand What ESSA Says About Evidence (and What It Leaves Out)
- 5 Build Evidence by Learning from Your Own Data
- 6 Interpret and Share Your Evidence
- 7 Build and Sustain Evidence Use in Your Organization
- Conclusion
- Further Readings
- Notes
- Acknowledgments
- About the Authors
- Index
