This Spotlight focuses on data from the 2013 Core Data Service (CDS) to better understand how higher education institutions approach student information systems (SISs). Information provided for this spotlight was derived from Module 8 of the CDS survey, which asked several questions regarding information systems and applications. Responses from…

Today's classrooms increasingly employ on-demand delivery of personalized content, virtual forums for interacting with other students and teachers, and a wealth of other interactive technologies that help foster and enhance the learning process. Online forums help teachers share lesson plans; social media help students collaborate across…

District and state data systems are constructed to ensure that individuals can access only the data that are appropriate for their role. Still, questions from the public about how these data systems work and how student privacy is protected have been increasing. A recurring concern is the feared existence of a "permanent record"--a…

Teachers need longitudinal student-level data, such as attendance history, course-taking patterns, grades, and test scores, to tailor instruction to individual students' strengths and weaknesses. This factsheet uses the findings from the "Data for Action 2013" analysis to discuss how states can provide teachers with student-level…

Access to higher education is affected by inequalities worldwide. Here we present a longitudinal study based on large databases of scores in upper secondary education and access to higher education in Portugal. Our findings show how access to higher education builds on and reinforces social inequalities: (1) private, fee-paying secondary schools…

We use data from Washington State to examine two stages of the teacher pipeline: the placement of prospective teachers into student teaching assignments and the hiring of prospective teachers into their first teaching positions. We find that prospective teachers are likely to complete their student teaching near their college and hometowns but…

This study examined adolescents' social capital, through social network analyses (i.e., ego network analyses), in two high schools where students were placed into academic tracks adopted by the schools and shaped by disability status (i.e., general education, co-taught, segregated special education classrooms). The impact of academic tracks, as…

Background: Little is known about the role of behavioural executive functioning (EF) skills and level of intelligence (IQ) on math abilities in children with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities. Method: Teachers of 63 children attending a school for special education (age: 10 to 13 years; IQ: 50 to 85) filled out a Behaviour Rating…

The higher education landscape has changed significantly over the past decade as advances in technology and the proliferation of data have rapidly reshaped the work of the registrar. Despite these innovations, many registrars steadfastly resist changing the academic transcript, arguing that it must reflect the highly structured curriculum that…

The Microbiology and Cell Science (MCS) Department at the University of Florida (UF) developed a new model of a 2 + 2 program that uses a hybrid online approach to bring its science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curriculum to students. In this paradigm, 2-year graduates transfer as online students into the Distance Education in…

Flipped classrooms support learner-centered approaches to improve conceptualization, comprehension, and problem solving skills by delivering content outside the classroom and actively engaging students inside the classroom. While literature in engineering and science education supports and encourages the use of inverted instruction, many core…

The National Forum on Education Statistics (Forum) organized the Education Data Privacy Working Group to explore how state and local education agencies (SEAs and LEAs) can support best practices at the school level to protect the confidentiality of student data in day-to-day instructional and administrative tasks. Many of the best practices…

Each edition of the IDRA Newsletter strives to provide many different perspectives on the issues in education topics discussed and to define its significance in the state and national dialogue. This issue focuses on Teaching Quality and includes: (1) Fostering Culturally Diverse Learning Environments (Paula Johnson); (2) Unlocking Instruction…

We estimate school-choice preferences revealed by the rank-ordered lists submitted by more than 22,000 applicants to a citywide lottery for more than 200 traditional and charter public schools in Washington, DC. The results confirm previously reported findings that commuting distance, school demographics, and academic indicators play important…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) preserves the most positive legacy of the No Child Left Behind era--more accurate and transparent data about the performance of all students--and helps states take their efforts to use data in support of student learning to the next level. The Data Quality Campaign (DQC) appreciates the opportunity to provide…