Determining whether a state's young people are on track for a life of opportunity is a difficult task for governors and state leaders. States can be both awash in data and unable to easily access and use that data to inform policy. State longitudinal data systems that meaningfully connect workforce, higher education, K-12, and early childhood…

Each year, state legislators craft new policies that drive data use across their states, and as part of a comprehensive review of state education data legislation, the Data Quality Campaign (DQC) keeps track. In 2022, state legislators introduced 131 bills in 35 states--42 of which became law in 17 states-- that would govern the use of data along…

The Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), formerly known as the Elementary and Secondary School Civil Rights Survey, is a part of the U.S. Department of Education's (ED's) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) strategy for administering and enforcing civil rights laws in U.S. public school districts and schools, including Puerto Rico.The CRDC collects a…

State and local report cards help ensure local educational agencies (LEAs), parents, families, educators, and communities have critical data and a common framework for gauging educational progress and success. Title I, Part A (Title I) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) requires States to annually share this important…

Alignment between K-12 education and the workforce is critical because jobs are changing. Students must be prepared not only for the jobs of today but also for the jobs of the future. Securely linking data between state K-12 and workforce data systems can create a bridge between these agencies as they develop shared career readiness goals for…

Using document analysis, this paper examines the historical emergence of the quantified child, revealing how the collection and use of data has become normalized through legitimizing discourses. First, following in the traditions of Foucault's genealogy and studies examining the sociology of numbers, this paper traces the evolution of data…

Measures of student growth offer a richer understanding of student performance than a moment-in-time test score alone, but measures of student growth are not created equal. In their accountability plans for implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), some states are using a sophisticated analysis of multiple data points that evaluate the…

Wikis continue to be used within technology environments of K-12 and higher education because they offer a collaborative environment for students to produce and receive content in concert with each other or on an individual basis (Kirkham, 2014). These online spaces are typically used as a course management system where students can both receive…

All students deserve a great education, one that affords every opportunity for them to grow into knowledgeable and successful adults. To date, efforts to improve education have operated on a model of mass production, assuming--wrongly--that what works for some students must work for all. To change that model, students and their parents, teachers,…

Schools have long collected information about students, from basic emergency contact details to daily attendance statistics. But only recently have schools used education technology to collect solid, reliable information (or data) about how students learn--as well as details about their strengths, challenges, and individual traits that impact…

This Special Report -- drawing on insights from a technical working group of experts in arts education, state data systems and state policy -- offers guidance on key arts-education metrics many states could track by using data they already collect.

Data are more than just test scores, and by effectively accessing and using different types of data--such as attendance, grades, and course-taking--teachers, parents, and school and district leaders can help ensure that every student is on a path for success every day, not just at the end of the school year. The 10 State Actions to Ensure…

Under both No Child Left Behind and the Every Student Succeeds Act, school leaders have been mandated to employ data-driven decision-making (DDDM) to diagnose student needs, implement targeted supports, and design school improvements. However, district administrators tasked with developing principals' DDDM capacity face a tough road. The authors…

Data plays a starring role in promoting educational equity, and data-driven decision making begins with good state policies. With the recent passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and a proposed federal rule to address racial disproportionality in special education, states will shoulder increased responsibility for eliminating…

All students deserve a great education, one that affords them every opportunity to grow into knowledgeable and successful adults. To make this vision a reality, students, parents, educators, and policymakers must have access to the right information to make decisions and support student learning. The Data Quality Campaign's Four Policy Priorities…