Combining Surveys and Case Studies to Examine Standards-Based Education Reform

It is becoming more common to use multiple research methods when studying large-scale school reforms. For example, over the past five years the authors combined statewide teacher surveys and school case studies to examine the impact of standards-based educational reforms in Kentucky and Washington. This paper uses examples from the study of the effects of the Washington education reform to explore how these methods can be used in complementary ways. It presents specific examples of the benefits of using both methods and makes recommendations for more effective integration of case study and survey methods in the future.