Marzano Research
Every year, a handful of our articles stand out because they strike a chord with leaders and educators. Here are the top 5 Marzano Research posts from 2025 that resonated with our readership, each tackling a real problem in the field and offering clear, usable ways to move from evidence to action.
1. The 5D Data Analysis Process: A Framework for Educational Decision Making
If your data feel overwhelming or underused, this piece outlines exactly how to translate it into decisions. It lays out our research-backed, step-by-step process for moving from questions to insights to action, along with an example that shows how it works in practice.
2. Future-Proofing Employability Skills: 5 Urgent Shifts Education Leaders Can’t Afford to Ignore
This article distills a massive national evidence review into practical guidance for leaders responsible for college and career readiness. It explains how changes in technology, work structures, and employer expectations have reshaped what employability looks like and where current systems are falling short. Readers will find a breakdown of the skills that still matter and five concrete shifts leaders can act on now.
3. Secrets to Successful Rural CTE: 10 Questions to Help Leaders and Teams Strategize
You can find broad CTE guidance almost anywhere, but general recommendations don’t always apply in rural settings. This article offers rural leaders ten focused questions tailored to their context, helping teams think strategically about data, partnerships, staffing, access, and local workforce needs.
4. Internal or External Evaluation? When to Say, “Both, Please!”
This article helps leaders navigate a common decision point in improvement work: determining what type of evaluation is needed for a specific program or initiative. It outlines when internal, external, or hybrid evaluation makes sense and how to avoid common pitfalls.
5. The Next Wave: 7 CIRCLE Takeaways on Funding Early Childhood
Drawing on a two-years-later followup evaluation of Colorado’s CIRCLE grant program, this article outlines practical guidance for funders and early childhood leaders. It highlights what helped projects last after funding ended, with lessons on building partnerships, scaling services, strengthening workforce quality, and using funding more strategically.
These articles rose to the top because they reflect what the field is asking for now: clarity, practicality, and evidence that actually informs decisions. If you missed any of them the first time around, they’re worth visiting.
