Data reflects a series of decisions made by people--and those decisions affect the story that data tells, what it captures, and how it can and should be used to inform decision-making. Because of this, mistrust in data is often the result of incomplete information and a lack of context. This resource breaks down what it means to build trust in…

Teachers' use of student data to inform instruction is commonly accepted as sound educational practice, and this data use is only likely to grow as more data, as well as more-complex data, become increasingly available to educators. However, numerous studies reveal inconsistent data use among teachers and an overall lack of the preparation and…

State policymakers are confronting well-documented intersecting crises -- medical, economic, and racial -- with especially dire implications for educational equity. State education leaders face a moral urgency to both understand and respond to the challenges students are experiencing and to do so in ways that address burgeoning equity gaps.…

This applied research methods report is a guide for state and local education agency policymakers and their analysts who are interested in studying teacher mobility and retention. This report is the second in a two-part set and builds on the foundational information in report 1. This report presents guidance on how to interpret differences in…

Across OECD countries, the increasing demand for evidence-based policy making has further led governments to design policies jointly with clear measurable objectives, and to define relevant indicators to monitor their achievement. This paper discusses the importance of such indicators in supporting the implementation of education policies.…

State education data systems help policymakers use data to evaluate the impact of their efforts to improve education. By disaggregating the data -- that is, breaking it out by different student subgroups -- policymakers can ensure that their efforts address the needs of students who have been traditionally underserved in educational settings. Yet…