Improving school performance requires data-driven decision making at all levels, from the classroom through local and state education agencies; from early childhood through higher education. Effective data-driven decision making requires that the data provided to educators be relevant—useful to the decision maker—and diagnostic—informative for the decision at hand. And while great progress has been made, it’s not always clear how to connect research to practice. REL Mid-Atlantic at Mathematica Policy Research plays a key role in strengthening this link. That’s why we’re excited to launch RELevant, a blog that shares information and perspectives aimed at helping decision makers consider ways to use research to improve school performance.
Look to RELevant in the coming months for timely, accessible, evidence-based perspectives on key education policy issues in the public eye. RELevant will feature viewpoints and expertise from REL staff, Governing Board members, practitioner members of the REL’s various research alliances, and other stakeholders and influencers in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. We’ll also explore research tools and methods that shed light on important questions in education and share insights, resources, and updates that can move us toward making every classroom the best it can be. Our goal is to provide a forum for sharing ideas and building connections among our partners and other leaders in state education agencies; teachers; principals; representatives from a range of rural, suburban, and urban school districts; and heads of regional education nonprofits and foundations.
We look forward to hearing from you about your most important questions and challenges. In the coming months we’ll highlight perspectives and connect with the education community to foster policies and programs informed by relevant evidence. By working together, we can build a stronger web of connections, translate research into actionable knowledge, and share ideas to tackle our nation’s most pressing education challenges.
Cross-posted from the REL Mid-Atlantic website.
