Accountability for improved student learning and school improvement planning is receiving significant attention in schools nationally. Substantial amounts of data are being analyzed and strategic priorities developed in an effort to improve student achievement. The purpose of this quantitative descriptive survey study was to examine differences between school districts that were facilitating the Ohio Improvement Process (OIP) and those that were not in relationship to how school improvement teams acquired, utilized, and implemented research based practices to improve student achievement. Three research questions addressed differences in the research-to-practice efforts by investigating the dependent variables of (a) quantity of research read, (b) quantity of research integrated, and (c) the number of professional membership/societies maintained by members of school improvement planning teams. Independent sample t tests were computed to determine the difference between the means of the OIP school improvement districts and those school districts that facilitated a different school improvement model. The results of this study indicated no statistically significant differences between schools employing OIP and those who did not on any dependent variable. Implications for positive social change include providing strategic professional development on use of educational research that can be used to help narrow student achievement gaps.