American Journal of Education special issue: Data use for school improvement

Written by some of the most respected researchers in the field – and originally presented at the 2005 meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) – this collection of papers in the forthcoming American Journal of Education seeks to address the paradoxical situation that today's educators are often "data rich" and "information poor."

By focusing on specific case studies of educational entities who have sought to integrate new data resources with strikingly little oversight, these papers offer insight into the ways new data and practices will influence the educational environment, the organizational changes that will be necessary to facilitate those changes, and what effect this applied resource will have on student achievement. In doing so, the researchers provide agendas for future practice and build a vital research base for determining best practices in this fast-changing area.

This special issue of the American Journal of Education was guest-edited by Jeffrey C. Wayman (University of Texas, Austin) and Sam Stringfield (University of Louisville).

"Conceptions of Evidence Use in School Districts: Mapping the Terrain," Cynthia E. Coburn and Joan E. Talbert

"Strategies to Promote Data Use for Instructional Improvement: Actions, Outcomes, and Lessons from Three Urban Districts," Kerri A. Kerr, Julie A. Marsh, Gina Schuyler Ikemoto, Hilary Darilek, and Heather Barney

"Teachers' Use of Data: Loose Coupling, Agenda Setting, and Team Norms," Viki M. Young

"Technology-Supported Involvement of Entire Faculties in Examination of Student Data for Instructional Improvement," Jeffrey C. Wayman and Sam Stringfield

"Tough Choices in Designing a Formative Assessment System," Nancy S. Sharkey and Richard J. Murnane

Founded in 1893, the American Journal of Education seeks to bridge and integrate the intellectual, methodological, and substantive diversity of educational scholarship, and to encourage a vigorous dialogue between educational scholars and practitioners. Papers are published that present research, theoretical statements, philosophical arguments, critical syntheses of a field of educational inquiry, and integrations of educational scholarship, policy, and practice.