In recent years, education data have become both more easily accessible and more important than ever to decisions about K-12 policies and practice. Under the "Every Student Succeeds Act" (ESSA), states are required to publish data on how students, including English Learners (ELs), are performing in areas such as reading, math, and…

The purpose of the National AEM Center's Quality Indicators with Critical Components for Higher Education is to assist institutes of higher education, both at the system and campus level, with planning, implementing, and evaluating dynamic, coordinated systems for providing accessible materials and technologies for all students who need them. The…

In 1974, Congress passed legislation known as the "Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act" or FERPA, in response to "the growing evidence of the abuse of student records across the nation." The law was written to protect the confidentiality of information held in a student's records. With the introduction of technology in…

Public reporting makes data about schools and districts--including enrollment, student performance, teacher effectiveness, and more--available to the public. These data never include information that could be used to identify individuals and are critical to meeting the information needs of parents, educators, administrators, policymakers, and…

Parents expect school districts and schools to keep their children safe while they are in school. That expectation of safety and security also extends to the protection of their children's learning data. Therefore, it is critical that school districts and schools are open and transparent about their student data privacy practices, and that those…

As the demand for college graduates increases, it is critical (from both supply and demand perspectives) that students choose the postsecondary option that best meets their needs. Improved college readiness is an important first step to better informed choices about college. Parents and students need access to easy-to-understand data to make the…

Parents of children with autism face many challenges that arise from the practical, day-to-day issues of living with autism. The specific goals of this guide are to help parents: (1) Find information about autism; (2) Distinguish between research-based and non-research-based information; (3) Become savvy consumers of information by giving them the…