State education data systems have often been described as data rich but information poor. Historically, these systems were created for compliance purposes and, therefore, designed and managed as information technology projects, but a culture change is under way. Educators and other stakeholders are beginning to value data as a tool to inform continuous improvement of student outcomes and system performance. As states work to meet the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) requirement to follow individuals through P-20 education and into the workforce by 2011, the reality is that these state systems cannot and should not collect the total universe of data on student, school and district performance. Collecting this vast amount of data would cost too much in terms of time, money, privacy and security. Rather, state longitudinal data systems should be created, managed and used strategically to meet the most critical information needs of key stakeholders. The Data Quality Campaign (DQC) has identified 10 Essential Elements of a longitudinal data system and 10 State Actions to ensure effective use of these data. As states make progress toward implementing these Elements and Actions, they must engage in the following processes to foster a culture of data-driven decisionmaking and ensure that the Elements and Actions are integrated purposefully and not simply as a series of 20 checkmarks: (1) Prioritize, through broad-based stakeholder input, the critical policy questions to drive the development and use of longitudinal data systems; (2) Ensure data systems are interoperable within and across agencies and sectors by adopting common data standards, definitions and language; and (3) Protect personally identifiable information through governance policies and practices that promote the privacy and security of the information while allowing appropriate data access and sharing.