This study examined how school and district leaders access, value, and use research. From a representative sample of school districts across the United States, we surveyed 733 school and district leaders as part of an effort to develop understanding of the prevalence of research use, the nature of leaders’ attitudes toward research, and individual and organizational correlates of research use. School and district leaders alike reported frequent use of research use and generally positive attitudes toward research. Leaders reported accessing research primarily through their professional networks. Those in certain roles, those pursuing or holding an advanced degree, and those who reported a strong organizational culture of evidence use reported higher levels of research use. These findings suggest that policy efforts to promote evidence use among education leaders will be welcomed but that policy makers need to take into account the prevalence of various types of research use in designing supports for evidence use.

The Every Student Succeeds Act grants states new flexibility to create more balanced assessment systems with a greater role for formative assessment. Drawing on lessons learned over three decades of research and reform, we argue that state and local leaders should take the lead in designing new assessments guided by two core principles: First, make assessments coherent with rich curriculum and instruction; second, ground this integration of curriculum, instruction, and embedded assessments in equity-focused research on learning.

Expectations for the role of research in educational improvement are high. Meeting these expectations requires productive relationships between researchers and practitioners. Few studies, however, have systematically explored the ways researchers can build stronger, more productive relationships with practitioners. This study seeks to identify such strategies by examining district leaders' views of how researchers might work with practitioners in more effective, beneficial, and collaborative ways. Through an analysis of 147 interviews with 80 district leaders in three urban school districts in the United States, we identify several key pieces of advice highlighted by district leaders for researchers. For researchers, these findings reveal potential strategies for shaping the design, conduct, and communication of their research in order to ensure its usefulness for practitioners.

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