The term "data-based decision making" (DBDM) has become pervasive in education and typically refers to the use of data to make decisions in schools, from assessment of an individual student's academic progress to whole-school reform efforts. Research suggests that special education teachers who use progress monitoring data (a DBDM approach) adapt instructional practices and effectively use data more often than teachers who do not use progress monitoring. Using data in decision making helps teachers be objective in order to accurately identify a problem, identify a solution, and assess the solution's effectiveness. Students with emotional and/or behavioral disorders (EBD) demonstrate both academic and behavioral deficits. DBDM provides a framework that allows one to know whether something works or does not work, and based on that knowledge, to adapt or adopt new instructional practices to positively affect student outcomes. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.)