Facilities departments at colleges and universities are facing the same challenge: how not to do just the most projects, but also the right projects with the limited funds they are given. In order to make the best decisions, they need more control over the capital planning process, which requires accurate, current facility condition data. Each…

This project assesses the feasibility of creating a voluntary, nationwide data dictionary that can be used to standardize the reporting of postsecondary accountability reporting requirements for the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (otherwise known as Perkins IV). Variables, field codes, and programming instructions,…

What happens when teams from 57 cities building afterschool systems gather to discuss two key system responsibilities--improving afterschool programs and using data for informed decision-making? Lots of rich discussion. This report covers a national afterschool conference held in February 2013. It details what mayors, program providers, system…

America's high schools play an integral role in preparing students for college and work in the 21st century. High school success is more important than ever for the health of our economy, for civic life, and to ensure equal opportunity. Unfortunately, the quality of state high school graduation and dropout data is such that most states cannot…

The extent to which state agencies are implementing information systems and analytical methods for budget review are examined. Focus is on 17 states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. Trends in budget…

Now that all 50 states and the District of Columbia are building statewide longitudinal data systems, the next step is to ensure that the information in these systems is used to improve student learning. The Data Quality Campaign (DQC) has identified 10 actions that states can take to ensure that the right data are available and accessible and…