The Program of Research and Evaluation for Public Schools (PREPS) is a consortium of public school districts in Mississippi working with the Bureau of Educational Research and Evaluation in the College of Education at Mississippi State University. PREPS is designed to provide data to local decision makers and aid them in problem identification. The superintendents of member school districts make up the PREPS Advisory Council. The council selects one overall research project each year believed to have the greatest impact for member districts. Each district selects one project believed to be most useful in providing data needed for making decisions within the district. PREPS staff members aid in design of the study, the data collection process, and statistical analyses. The education function is directed toward promoting delivery of good data that are useful in the decision making process. The success of the PREPS concept is dependent upon certain basics: PREPS exists to serve school districts; an interactional relationship permitting communication between PREPS staff and local decision makers is functional; a local school district commitment in terms of money and personnel is necessary; and a task force approach is used for problem solving. PREPS provides a viable model to make quality data available. (DWH)