Common-Sense Evidence: The Education Leader's Guide to Using Data and Research

by Nora Gordon, Carrie Conaway

Written 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.

Genres: Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

Published August 25, 2020

Reviews

[Eric Kalenze · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to rate, (1) because I'm familiar with a lot of it presents, (2) I appreciate how valuable it might be for ed cases who are less familiar than I am, and (3) Nora/Carrie consulted me along the way as they were writing it (and I/researchED US get a few mentions within).

In all, a very useful book for education leaders hoping to better understand how to bring evidence into their decision-making. I appreciate the work Nora and Carrie have done here.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the practicality of this book!

[Kelly Coons · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Common-Sense Evidence" scaffolds the reader's understanding of how and why to use data and research in education reform through having you "learn alongside" several other education teams: 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. It smartly eschews the language of academia in favor of "common-sense" style of speech—yet I do not think it will convince people who aren't already interested in using data and research in their work.

[Lauren Matlach · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be required reading as part of administrator prep programs. Accessible, easy to read, and very useful information.

[Shae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely more k-12 focused than higher education - not a bad thing, just less useful for me! I think there were definitely a few useful chapters, but also several that were a bit convoluted.