When education leaders utilize survey results to inform their decisions, they are often left wondering if the "right" survey questions were asked. To help state and local leaders improve existing instruments or create better instruments for data collection, this quick reference guide highlights best practices in designing effective…

Data reflects a series of decisions made by people--and those decisions affect the story that data tells, what it captures, and how it can and should be used to inform decision-making. Because of this, mistrust in data is often the result of incomplete information and a lack of context. This resource breaks down what it means to build trust in…

State legislators have the opportunity to create and support legislation that positions data as a tool to help decisionmakers at all levels take action to support student success. This checklist can serve as a guide to crafting legislation that addresses education data. It applies specifically to education data legislation which includes bills…

Measurement systems give colleges a structure for collecting, sharing, and acting on data. The guidebook and tools presented here help faculty, staff, college leadership, and policymakers understand and use measurement systems--and specifically use data to improve completion rates, close institutional performance gaps, and facilitate economic…

Collaborative staff development in education is the vehicle to student success, and research shows that the closer professional learning is to daily practice, the more meaningful and impactful it will be. Written with deep respect for the work educators do in their classrooms each day, this practical resource illustrates the importance of…

Integrating data across early childhood programs allows program staff and administrators, policymakers, and researchers to have a comprehensive picture of early childhood programs. While some states have taken significant steps to integrate data across many early childhood programs, home visiting data have seldom been included in these data…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires that state education agencies (SEAs) conduct periodic resource allocation reviews (RARs) in districts that serve low-performing schools. The mandate represents a new opportunity for states and districts to examine the connection between resource allocation and academic outcomes, but the language of…

As part of both the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) and the recently passed 2021 Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSA), the U.S. Department of Education (USED) made available almost $4.2 billion for the Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER). Governors across the nation…

This report is drafted with state leaders and policy makers in mind, including those who work with or support these education leaders. The information shared in this report will likely be most relevant to states that have either not yet considered a new data system on teacher preparation providers, are only now starting to consider the idea, or…

In March 2020, Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) convened a Shared Solutions Workgroup of state and national experts to explore strategies for effective Career Technical Education (CTE) data reporting and communication. Over a series of meetings, the workgroup co-designed a set of tools and resources to help…

The Forum Guide to Early Warning Systems provides information and best practices to help education agencies plan, develop, implement, and use an early warning system in their agency to inform interventions that improve student outcomes. The document includes a review of early warning systems and their use in education agencies and explains the…

This report highlights the critical role family literacy and learning play in breaking down barriers between different learning contexts and engaging hard-to-reach adults and children in education. This report was developed as part of a family learning project initiated by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) in 2016. Based on the…

The purpose of this guide is to help readers clarify their roles in the college access and success system and to identify how they might use data to create change for students. This guide shows how data can strengthen current programs and support broader changes that ease the path to college for students. This guide illuminates how a long-term…

Spurred by the "No Child Left Behind Act" of 2001, virtually every educational reform program now includes an accountability component that requires sound data collection and reporting. Improving data quality has thus emerged as a high priority for educators and policymakers across the country. The list of programs for which data quality…

This guide provides recommendations for collecting accurate, comparable, and useful data about virtual education in an elementary/secondary education setting. Its goals are to: (1) identify components common to many education information systems that are necessary to meet the information needs of policymakers, administrators, instructors, and…