What Works in Schools: Translating Research into Action

by Robert J. Marzano

Any school in the United States can operate at advanced levels of effectiveness—if it is willing to implement what is known about effective schooling. "If we follow the guidance offered from 35 years of research," says author Robert J. Marzano, "we can enter an era of unprecedented effectiveness for the public practice of education." In What Works in Schools: Translating Research into Action, Marzano synthesizes that research to provide clear and unequalled insight into the nature of schooling. Marzano defines the factors affecting student achievement and offers compelling answers to once-elusive questions:

Genres: Education, Teaching, Nonfiction, Professional Development, Research

117 pages, Paperback

Published January 15, 2003

Reviews

[Roxy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book for specific examples.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars because Marzano has a tendency to recycle the same ideas and points over and over which can get irritating, especially when he cites himself frequently. Nevertheless, his format of ending each section with action steps and the sound research he provides make this a valuable resource.

[Crystal]

grad school book

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as a part of my Master's courses for Educational Leadership and Administration.

This book is a pretty comprehensive collection of actions and steps for schools to take to improve student achievement. I really liked how it was organized into school, teacher, and student level factors. Marzano does a great job of synthesizing the research from several different sources. I appreciated that he wasn't too wordy with his chapters. I do wonder if anything was left out though.

One interesting note for me was his critique of how brain-based teaching may be over-stepping and changing more than it should. An interesting idea considering he critiqued the authors of the textbook for my other course. Let the debate ... continue.

[Shelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Marzano's ideas. I think his action steps are actually actionable. (It's always nice when a book is useful.) I find the way he compiles various research to be very interesting, and it makes me wish I remembered more about statistics (it's just been too long!). I am not teaching yet, so I might feel differently about this book if I were a current teacher.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whenever you can apply research-based strategies, the better off you are. Again, Marzano knows what he is talking about.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good tool for demonstrating "best practices" that translate into authentic learning and student academic gains.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

very painful to read, great ideas and advice is lost in paragraphs of citations.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ideas - some large, some small, but a good way to look at things. It provided some good perspective while giving ideas that could be translated into a specific school.