Statewide longitudinal data systems (SLDSs) often rely on personal identifiers to securely link individual-level data across early childhood, K-12, higher education, and the workforce. However, different sectors use different types of personal identifiers which can make accurately connecting records difficult. Driver's license data offers a single…

Data is ubiquitous and inseparable from the human experience. It constantly informs and transforms interactions, decisions, and understanding. If the total amount of all the data created daily was printed on paper, it would fill a library the size of 110 Libraries of Congress. As a senior research consultant for an education market research and…

"Court-involved" students -- those who are incarcerated, on probation, in foster care, in residential treatment facilities, or have concurrent adjudications -- retain their full educational rights under federal and state laws. They also face many educational challenges, as they are often highly mobile, have concentrated needs, and may…

Building a better data culture can be the path to better results and greater equity in schools. But what do we mean by data? Your students are not just statistics. They aren't simply a set of numbers or faceless dots on a proficiency scale. They are vibrant collections of experiences, thoughts, perspectives, emotions, wants, and dreams. And taken…

Native nations have long proven their resilience against the odds, consistently paving a path forward and exercising their sovereign rights as autonomous, self-governing peoples. As the world embarks upon an increasingly digital age, Indigenous peoples face a new threat: datafication. Datafication is "turning nearly every aspect of human life…

The purpose of this essay is to discuss the impact of the EdD experience on one teacher's understanding of data and research. From a first-person narrative, the author shares how learning to collect and analyze qualitative data has the potential to change the way teachers can engage with "data-driven decision making" in a high school…

In the 2023 report "Colorado's Longitudinal Data Landscape. Report to the Education Committees of the Colorado House of Representatives and the Colorado Senate. Statute: 23-1-141," the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) provided a detailed overview of Colorado's long history of efforts to support more connected, longitudinal…

Policymakers across the country are seeking to better understand credentials of value--the education and training programs that help workers fill in-demand and growing jobs in their states. But right now, leaders are lacking the complete set of information they need to understand P-20W (early childhood, K-12, postsecondary, and workforce) pathways…

This article provides teachers with a toolkit for assessing students in the context of data-based individualization (DBI) in mathematics. Assessing students is a critical component of DBI because it provides teachers with information about what they may need to modify in their instructional programs. In this article, we provide teachers with…

While there are many different types of education data, policymakers and education leaders often place heavy emphasis on data from large-scale quantitative measures, such as annual state assessments. But data from these sources alone do not provide a complete picture of learning and are often not well suited to informing improvements at the local…

Cooperative Extension professionals utilize proven qualitative techniques to collect and analyze information to make data-driven decisions that guide program direction and determine impact. While the process may not always look the same, it is indeed essential to ensure findings are credible and reflective of the data. A codebook is a valuable…

Students cannot experience the full potential benefits of an intervention unless they are receiving the intervention. This is the second installment in a three-part series on intervention fidelity designed to highlight the importance of ensuring classroom supports are implemented as intended. This article provides guidance related to measuring and…

The Maine Department of Education (MDOE) wanted to better understand if their current educator workforce data collection could help them quantify supply and demand for educators in the state. They also wanted to understand if local school administrative units collected data that could inform future efforts to understand educator vacancies to…

A national poll from the Data Quality Campaign (DQC), conducted by The Harris Poll, surveyed early childhood administrators--educational or child care professionals in program director or general manager roles serving children from birth through age four--to find out how they are collecting, using, and reporting data. Early childhood…

Written with faculty in mind, "Assessment by Design" is a practical resource that will also be useful to student affairs staff and administrators dedicated to using assessment to improve learning in curricular and co-curricular settings. This book presents the Cycle of Assessment as a framework that supports assessment in service of…