States are making progress in supporting effective data use, but the hardest work remains. Although states collect quality data and have enacted policy changes, they have not yet focused on meeting people's needs. This report includes the following: (1) Changing the Culture of Education Data Takes Systems, Policies, and People; (2) Data for Action…

Data-driven decision making has become increasingly important in education. Policymakers require educators to use data to inform practice. Although the policy emphasis is growing, what has not increased is attention to building human capacity around data use. Educators need to gain data literacy skills to inform practice. Although some…

High-quality out-of-school-time (OST) programs have a positive effect on youth development, but many cities have found it difficult to address the challenges of expanding and improving the quality of programs offered to underserved and high-need students. In response, The Wallace Foundation sponsored an initiative to help five cities increase…

High-quality out-of-school-time (OST) programs have a positive effect on youth development, but many cities have found it difficult to address the challenges of expanding and improving the quality of programs offered to underserved and high-need students. In response, The Wallace Foundation sponsored an initiative to help five cities increase…

Systems dynamics, a computer-based tool for visualizing how parts of an organization work together over time, is a valuable tool in administrative decision making. Feedback loops among elements mimic complicated behavior in real or imagined situations. An experiment using the technique with a simple research funding model validated its utility.…

Future organizations must integrate their human-resource development requirements with organizational development requirements to survive and prosper. A totally integrated systems model will feature 10 crucial elements. Leaders must understand that their organizations pass through developmental stages (from infancy to maturity); at each stage,…

During the last five years, the Instructional Support System for Occupational Education (ISSOE) in New York State has grown to involve approximately 3,000 teachers in development activities. To manage this system, a management information system was set up to develop reports on student progress, student decision making, and planning for student…

The report outlines how the University of Alaska (Fairbanks) could move toward institutionalizing a chief information officer and merge campus academic and administrative information systems. The chief information officer would have such responsibilities as strategic planning participation, information systems planning, development of…

This paper describes a methodology for helping institutional research assess its roles and its effectiveness in supporting decision-making at all institutional levels. The paper discusses how to meet this goal by planning, doing, checking, and acting. Planning requires the understanding of the roles of the data custodian, the broker, and the…

School districts have begun examining the feasibility of, and in some cases are developing and implementing automated systems for, managing and evaluating instructional programs. This paper describes and analyzes the issues and problems that emerged over the course of three projects--a large suburban school in the West, a consortium of five small…

In response to changing management and budgetary strategies that have been driving decision making to the lowest administrative levels, institutional researchers have been attempting to identify indicators which can be used to evaluate institutional performance and progress. This paper reviews efforts to introduce departmental operational…