Since the inception of the No Child Left Behind legislation, school districts have been faced with a growing need to gather, analyze and monitor more data than ever before in the management of school performance. Accountability mandates also have placed a greater emphasis on gleaning the most granular types of information from these large sources of data. The adage that school districts are "data rich" and "information poor," while comical, can become a reality if school systems do not take action to plan for and deliver on their data management needs. Data management software can include any locally developed or commercial, off-the-shelf system for storing, manipulating, analyzing and reporting information used in the administration of a school or district. Some steps and basic information that can aid in selecting the right data management and reporting system for a school district are presented.