The Article
Associate Dean Joan Ferrini-Mundy and colleague W. Gary Martin of Auburn University examine the role and value of educational research as it relates to policy and practice. They describe the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) initiative to revise its standards as a case study of the use of research in policy development.

Discussion
The revised NCTM standards, Principles and Standards for School Mathematics, were released in 2000. The standards present national recommendations for changes in practice in prekindergarten through 12th grade mathematics education. The authors describe how the development of standards were shaped by the theoretical perspectives, methodologies, and finds of research. As part of the revision process, Ferrini-Mundy and Martin note that the group tasked with writing the new standards, known as the Writing Group, made an early decision to more explicitly draw on and include research in the document. In fact, NCTM’s Research Advisory Committee commissioned leading mathematics education researchers to produce white papers synthesizing research on mathematics teaching and learning. “This approach was a major departure from the standard model of report writing and provided the Writing Group a sophisticated and rich set of resources.” The authors also show the role theoretical constructs and methodologies from research played in developing the standards. They then document how the research is visible in the content. They note the research was used to document the current state of mathematics education, as well as to support claims and recommendations and provide detail and elaboration of ideas. The authors conclude: “If we do not overestimate the role of research or overstate claims on its basis, we hope to demonstrate that research can play an essential role in shaping documents that will have significant attention in, and use for, the improvement of educational practice.”

Citation
Ferrini-Mundy, J. & Martin, G.W. (2004). Using research in policy development: The case of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. In J. Kilpatrick, W.G. Martin & D. Schifter (Eds.), A Research Companion to Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. Washington, D.C.: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

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