Many researchers seek answers to questions relevant to the design, implementation, assessment, and administration of education policy in the United States. A veritable army of researchers, including not only those trained specifi cally as educational researchers but also economists, psychologists, sociologists, political scientists, and lawyers working in universities, think tanks, advocacy groups, and government, do research that has potential relevance to improving education. They generally produce policy research. Although they often do so with the express purpose of informing education policy, they rarely engage in policy analysis to assess systematically the alternative policy choices that could be made to address any particular problem or to exploit any identifi ed opportunity. I argue in this chapter that by adopting a more policy-analytic perspective, those producing research relevant to education policy would potentially increase the usefulness of their research and the prudence of their policy claims.