Education data are growing in quantity, quality, and value. When appropriately used to guide action, data can be a powerful tool for improving school operations, teaching, and learning. Education stakeholders who possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities to appropriately access, analyze, and interpret data will be able to use data to take…

Using data for school reform is like painting a series of pictures--pictures that are subtle and capture the nuances of the subject. This is a far cry from drawing stick figures or paint-by-numbers. Imagine the experiences of the French painter Claude Monet as he wandered through his garden at Giverny at different times of the day and year,…