Analysis of student-level data to inform policy and promote student success is a core function of executive higher education agencies. Postsecondary data systems have expanded their collection of data elements for use by policymakers, institutional staff, and the general public. The State Higher Education Executive Officers association (SHEEO), as…

The theme of the "Outline of the National Mid- to Long-Term Plan for Education Reform and Development (2010-2020)" is building a nation rich in human resources, its primary thread is promoting the scientific development of education, and its soul is reform and innovation. The important concepts and policy innovations of the National…

Every student, no matter where he or she lives, deserves a great teacher. States, educator preparation programs (EPPs), and K-12 leaders must work together to ensure that all teachers are learner ready on day one in the classroom. But too often, these actors do not have access to the necessary information to fully prepare teachers for the unique…

The issue of student retention and graduation from postsecondary institutions has grown in stature over the past decade. While the last 40 years of federal and state policies have focused largely on access to college, there is now a very real interest in not only getting students into college but also helping them earn baccalaureate and other…

This report shows how state leaders are using technological advances to improve the use of data in five critical areas: (1) Helping economic and workforce developers, businesses, and colleges to reduce the high costs resulting from uninformed education and workforce decisions; (2) Assisting college leaders in making program-related decisions that…

When researching school options, parents may want to look for schools with high-growth scores which, according to research, may be indicators of other characteristics such as programming, leadership, culture, and size. This quick guide offers parents tips on how to identify high-growth schools and what to ask when evaluating school options. An…

In this book, best-selling author Susan M. Brookhart helps teachers and administrators understand the critical elements and nuances of assessment data and how that information can best be used to inform improvement efforts in the school or district. Readers will learn: (1) What different kinds of data can--and cannot--tell us about student…

This article considers the role played by policy makers, government organisations, and research institutes (sometimes labelled "think tanks") in the analysis, use and reporting of PISA data for the purposes of policy advice and advocacy. It draws on the ideas of Rizvi and Lingard (Globalizing Education Policy, 2010), Bogdandy and…

The objective of this article is to describe seven elements important to successful implementation of early literacy intervention. The seven elements are drawn from research as well as from the authors' recent randomized controlled trial of effective early literacy interventions in kindergarten through second grade in 55 schools across Florida.…

The purpose of this brief is twofold. First, it describes a useful template for business instructors to improve teamwork assignment design and efficacy; and second, it provides an example of how to use data collected and analyzed from a Web-based tool, Comprehensive Assessment of Team Member Effectiveness (CATME). Though CATME has been the subject…

Who uses student data? is an infographic created by the Data Quality Campaign. (Used with permission) It answers important privacy-related questions about who collects, uses, and distributes student data. Most personal student information stays local. Districts, states, and the federal government all collect data about students for important…

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015) moves education further along the path toward becoming the evidence-based and data-driven profession that policy makers have continually called for. They have stressed the need for hard evidence to undergird educational decisions rather than relying on anecdotes and intuitions. This means teachers must…

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…

As more students, faculty, and staff from traditionally underrepresented groups enter universities and colleges, academic libraries must find ways to reach out to these groups in order to better meet their unique educational needs. In this article, librarians from two large public universities describe how they used data about their communities to…

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,…