Research Commentary: Pressures to Improve Student Performance: A Context That Both Urges and Impedes School-Based Research

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB, 2002) elevates the importance of educational research and thereby provides opportunities for mathematics education researchers in its support for and funding of rigorous research studies and its requirement of effective, research-based practices. At the same time, by demanding more of overburdened teachers and administrators, NCLB may exacerbate a long-standing gulf between educational research and practice. We use our recent experiences with conducting school-based research to illustrate how educational research can be impeded by the added demands of NCLB and other factors in the current climate. In addition, we hope to begin a dialogue that will encourage researchers and practitioners to work together to capitalize on NCLB's increased emphasis on educational research to create a systematic approach to bridging the research-practice gulf.