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…

In 2024, state legislators introduced hundreds of bills that would affect data collection, access, and use across early education, K-12, postsecondary, and the workforce. As in 2023, legislators continued to introduce and enact legislation governing cross-agency data systems. These policies are the most important step toward making statewide…

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…

Historically, it has been difficult for students and their families to compare how different colleges and programs improve students' chances of landing a desirable job and earning a good salary. The U.S. Department of Education's 2015 release of student earning data was a major step toward remedying this problem. The data offered by the College…

California has long been a national and global leader in developing and maintaining quality higher education options, as well as in providing financial aid and consumer protections for Californians who access that education. However, although California's colleges and the state government do collect, receive, and report a great deal of data, these…

Fact-based decision making is changing job functions within organizations more than any other technology. Analytics, once the purview of the data scientist, is now spread throughout organizations. No longer is there a single job title, job function, or set of required skills and credentials for an analytics career. Companies have moved away from…

Data is a critical part of policy conversations in every state. This briefing book is meant to bring the reader up to speed on 12 of the most pressing topics about the schools and postsecondary and workforce options in each state: (1) Student data helps improve student achievement; (2) Postsecondary data provides insights about students, schools,…

Determining whether a state's young people are on track for a life with opportunity is a critical -- but diffcult -- 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…

The level of educational attainment in the United States is a central focus of public policy. The Obama administration, some states, large national foundations, and other organizations have set near-term goals to increase the number of Americans with college degrees. Achieving these goals is likely to involve a combination of increasing…

The urgent need to equip young people with the knowledge and skills necessary to be agile lifelong learners who can thrive in a rapidly changing economy has never been clearer. As a result, many school districts have been shifting their focus, aiming to better prepare all high school students to graduate ready to succeed both in college and in the…

Employers' recruitment behaviour in entry labour markets is central for young people's transitions from school to work. Whereas previous research has focused on the effects of specific applicant characteristics, I concentrate on how organisational characteristics, namely organisation size and private or public sector affiliation, relate to…

This issue brief discusses how data science has emerged as a tool across all industries, resulting in a high demand for data-science experts and data analytics-enabled workers.

This monograph details the process Building Engagement and Attainment for Minority Students (BEAMS) institutions used to craft data-driven action plans to improve student success. More than 100 four-year Historically Black, Hispanic-Serving, and Tribal colleges and universities participated in the five-year program that produced best practices…

Recommends the use of computer graphics for making smart and quick decisions and reducing costs. Discusses the advantage of having user-friendly graphics, the importance of using a proper format, the basic steps for generating computer graphics, and the need to be aware of possible abuse or misuse of graphics. (EL)

Project MAP (Model Accounting Plan) is designed to test a demographic system for monitoring the within-school and post-school transitions of special education participants. Implemented at the local level, this system produces data to inform school-level decision-making. In addition, the data that are produced can be aggregated for use at higher…