The present work describes the challenges faced during the development of a countrywide Learning Analytics study and tool focused on tracking and understanding the trajectories of Uruguayan students during their first three years of secondary education. Due to the large scale of the project, which covers an entire national educational system,…

Students in a master's-level graduate course in school counseling program evaluation conducted a qualitative research study to investigate school counselors' experiences with evidence-based program delivery and evaluation. We discuss the study's findings that illuminated themes of challenges faced by school counselors with implications for…

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. This report updates the original June 2018 "Emerging Insights" report and…

A number of national and international organizations have compiled lists of grand challenges to unify the efforts of scholars and practitioners in a field. Unified efforts increase the possibility of creating meaningful and lasting progress. In this paper we share ten grand challenges that were identified through an examination of the assessment…

E3 Alliance is a regional, data-driven education collaborative based in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2006, E3 Alliance acts as a catalyst for change, working to break down barriers and build better alignment across the education continuum. In pursuit of systemic change, E3 Alliance is guided by "The Blueprint for Educational Change,"…

Today's school principals face unprecedented challenges that can overwhelm even the most dedicated among them. What can they do when their initial enthusiasm for the job begins to deflate, when the demands of the job seem to outnumber the rewards? How can they regain the energy that propelled them early in their career? "The Principal…

Efforts across higher education, economic development, workforce development and secondary education address alignment, which the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) Council defines as helping individuals prepare for and obtain meaningful careers while also meeting employer needs. Specifically, the relationship between workforce…

Multi-Tiered System of Supports is a comprehensive framework that unites colleagues of various backgrounds together in pursuit of a common goal to support students with evidence-based interventions to meet their individual needs in the school setting. The problem addressed in this study was the lack of professional development training teachers…

Response to intervention, direct instruction, and data-based decision-making are all effective teaching practices that can impact student math performance. When educational technology is implemented in classroom settings, it can address both the needs of teachers and students. However, there is little information detailing how educational…

Blue Valley, the fourth largest school district in Kansas, covers 91 square miles. More than 20,000 K-12 students attend its 34 schools (five high schools, nine middle schools, and 20 elementary schools). Blue Valley began using MAP® Growth™ in 2005 to track students' academic growth over time and independently of grade level. In 2010 the district…

Monitoring, evaluation, and research activities generate important data, but they often fail to change policies or programs. In addition, local program staff and partners often feel disconnected from these activities, which undermines their ownership of data and results. To bridge the gaps between monitoring, evaluation, and research and to give…

Australia has made tremendous progress in building a better early childhood education and care (ECEC) system to serve all Australian children and families. Substantial data already exists about ECEC services in Australia, including access, participation and quality. Large-scale data sets are held by governments (state and federal), research…

With the spread of learning analytics (LA) dashboards in K-12 schools, educators are increasingly expected to make sense of data to inform instruction. However, numerous features of school settings, such as specialized vantage points of educators, may lead to different ways of looking at data. This observation motivates the need to carefully…

This contribution takes a critical perspective on digital school performance platforms (SPP), which today play a key role in US state education monitoring and accountability. Using examples from two different US state education agencies, I provide an analytical disentanglement of some key dimensions of such platforms' enactment and materiality. I…

A local education agency (LEA) preschool program serving 3- to 5-year-old children is committed to high-quality inclusion for young children with disabilities and their neurotypical peers. The school is investing in using evidence-based practices to support all children in learning and development, building meaningful friendships, and a sense of…