Billy Buchanan, Director of Data, Research, and Accountability, Fayette County Public Schools, Lexington, Kentucky, expresses frustration with the disconnect between the large and important goals of education research, on one hand, and the gaps in measurement and statistical training, on the other.
Buchanan writes:
I don’t think that every classroom educator, instructional coach, principal, or central office administrator needs to be an expert on measurement. I do, however, think that if we are training individuals to be researchers (e.g., PhDs) we have a duty to make sure they are able to conduct the best possible research, understand the various caveats and limitations to their studies, and especially understand how measurement – as the foundational component of all research across all disciplines (yes, even qualitative research) – affects the inferences derived from their data. . . . In essence, if a researcher wants to use an existing vetted measurement tool for research purposes, they should already have access to the technical documentation and can provide the information up front so as our staff reviews the request we can also evaluate whether or not the measurement tool is appropriate for the study. If a researcher wants to use their own measure, we want them to be prepared to provide sufficient information about the validity of their measurement tool so we can ensure that they publish valid results from their study; this also has an added benefit for the researcher by essentially motivating them to generate another paper – or two or three – from their single study.
He provides some links to resources, and then he continues:
I would like to encourage other K-12 school districts to join with us in requiring researchers to do the highest quality research possible. I, for one, at least feel that the students, families, and communities that we serve deserve nothing less than the best and believe if you feel the same that your organization would adopt similar practices. You can find our policies here: Fayette County Public Schools Research Requests. Or if you would like to use our documentation/information and/or contribute to what we currently have, you can submit an issue to our documentation’s GitHub Repository (https://github.com/fcps/research-request).