Education officials have long hoped that the statewide academic assessments most students take each year could be used not only for accountability but also to guide instruction. Congress established the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA) program in 2015 to help address this goal, offering up to seven states flexibility from…

Analysis of student-level data to inform policy and promote student success is a core function of executive higher education agencies. Postsecondary data systems have expanded their collection of data elements for use by policymakers, institutional staff and the general public. State coordinating and governing boards use these data systems for…

"Fostering Youth Transitions" is a state-by-state data compilation designed to show state policymakers and other key stakeholders how young people are faring as they move from foster care to adulthood. The report shows the clear need for better policies and practices to give young people in foster care the opportunity to have brighter…

California's information about opportunities and outcomes in early learning and care, TK-12 schools, colleges, social services, and employment is currently disconnected. A longitudinal data system can be a powerful tool that allows California to identify bright spots, inequities, and roadblocks in our educational system, especially for students of…

This publication highlights how state leaders tackle data interoperability with the emergence of data standards for student information, assessment, digital content, and other educational applications. While states are at various maturity levels for interoperability, each state shares goals for interoperability, the drivers for those goals,…

Wisconsin was one of the 10 states selected to participate in New Skills for Youth (NSFY). NSFY, launched by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2016, is a $75 million, five-year initiative, aimed at strengthening and expanding high-quality career pathways for youth. As part of this initiative, the Council of Chief State School Officers, Advance CTE and…

The purpose of the National AEM Center's Quality Indicators with Critical Components for Higher Education is to assist institutes of higher education, both at the system and campus level, with planning, implementing, and evaluating dynamic, coordinated systems for providing accessible materials and technologies for all students who need them. The…

As communicated via a November 2017 memo (see ED610130), the Vermont Agency of Education (AOE), in collaboration with their implementation vendor Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH), has been working to finalize the design, development, and testing of a Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS). Through its Vertical Reporting processes, the SLDS will…

This Special Report -- drawing on insights from a technical working group of experts in arts education, state data systems and state policy -- offers guidance on key arts-education metrics many states could track by using data they already collect.

Sharing and integrating data across the variety of public systems, including public health insurance, child care subsidies, and food assistance, accessed by children and families is crucial to providing decision-makers with complete and accurate information that they can use to shape and improve services. This brief highlights projects implemented…

Modern computing technology makes it possible for governments at all levels to use the data they already collect to improve service coordination and delivery, and to conduct research and evaluation to inform policymaking. California is well behind other states in taking advantage of this opportunity, in education and in other fields. The state has…

The State Family Outcomes Measurement System Framework (S-FOMS) is a framework originally developed by the Early Childhood Outcomes Center that identifies seven key components of a high-quality family outcomes measurement system at the state level. The seven components are: (1) Purpose; (2) Data collection and transmission; (3) Analysis; (4)…

High school feedback reports can allow states, districts and schools to evaluate the transition of students from high school to postsecondary education. These reports or data systems contain a variety of information on a state's high school graduates, including postsecondary enrollment data, developmental education needs and first year…

As anyone would readily agree, no child should be trapped in a persistently failing school. When the author was appointed New Mexico's secretary of education in 2011, she committed to never settle for failure and never stop pursuing equity and opportunity for all students. Many of New Mexico's students live in poverty or are students of color and…

Every U.S. state and the District of Columbia maintain a system to collect and store education data. These systems vary widely in their scope and sophistication -- and, by extension, in their ability to provide information that can guide decision-making. Most states have developed statewide longitudinal data systems, which establish formal…