A project is described that helps states provide more comparable, complete, and timely educational information for the annual Common Core of Data (CCD) to be used for policy-making decisions. The Education Data Improvement Project (EDIP), funded by the National Center for Education Statistics, began in the fall of 1985. In the first phase/year, the focus was on the Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe and the Public Elementary/Secondary Education Agency Universe Surveys. In the second phase/year, the project examined the information provided in the fiscal portions of the CCD. During the third phase/year, focus was on state-aggregate staffing data reported in the State Nonfiscal Survey. At the beginning of each project phase, state education agencies were asked to provide their most recent data collection instruments and supporting documents. EDIP staff reviewed the documents, developed state profiles of data collection, and identified elements for which states cannot provide comparable data. Technical assistance plans have been developed for the first phase of the project; these will be revised for the states as additional information is collected. Areas of particular concern due to incompleteness or lack of comparability of data were: (1) student and school counts; (2) demographic and descriptive data; (3) high school completion rates; (4) per pupil expenditures; and (5) staffing data. (SLD)