In this review, I examined the last two decades of research on data use in education to outline the ways in which principals used data to inform their own leadership practices. I found three themes: first, student achievement data were the most widespread form of data that principals used; second, principals' work has been reshaped by teacher…

Since 2010, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association's (SHEEO) Strong Foundations survey has reported on the evolution and value of postsecondary student unit record systems (PSURSs) by illuminating the condition of state postsecondary data in the U.S. In the "Strong Foundations 2023" survey, which was administered from…

Wake Forest University (WFU) is in the midst of a 28-month student information system (SIS) transition. The authors' offices are deeply involved in this process on a daily basis. As the university collects and analyzes data, discusses operational needs with campus colleagues, builds and configures tenants, tests and validates, and implements a new…

The use of blockchain in education has become one of the trending topics in education technology research. However, only a handful of education blockchain solutions have provided a measure of the impact on students' learning outcomes, teaching, or administrative processes. This work reviews how academic data stored on the blockchain is being…

Libraries remain one of the last places on campus where the purging of usage data is encouraged and "tracking" is a dirty word. While some libraries have demonstrated the usefulness of analytics, opponents bring up issues of privacy and debate the feasibility of student-generated library data for planning and assessment. Using a study…

States often turn to a data masking procedure called microsuppression in order to reduce the risk of disclosing student records when sharing data with external researchers. This process removes records deemed to have high risk for disclosure should data be released. However, this process can induce differences between the original data and the…

States often turn to a data masking procedure called microsuppression in order to reduce the risk of disclosing student records when sharing data with external researchers. This process removes records deemed to have high risk for disclosure should data be released. However, this process can induce differences between the original data and the…

Big data is an important part of innovation that has recently attracted a lot of interest from academics and practitioners alike. Given the importance of the education industry, there is a growing trend to investigate the role of big data in this field. Much research has been undertaken to date in order to better understand the use of big data in…

State longitudinal data systems can be a powerful tool to support student success and spur equity-minded improvement throughout state education systems, but state policymakers must ensure that students' information is safe and secure. In a case study looking at Louisiana's efforts to secure student data, this profile illuminates some of the…

In this study on K-12 schools in the U.S. Florida Heartland, I take a QuantCrit approach to uncover how processes of data transformation, which I call 'racial re-formation', shape the utilization and reporting of racial and ethnic representations of students. To understand actual data use at schools, I apply QuantCrit's principles on how numbers…

Inclusivity in data reports for undocumented students can be difficult to achieve. By nature of those students' status and livelihood, there is contention among academics and practitioners on whether this is a population that should not be formally tracked or identified, for a variety of reasons. Concerns about tracking arise because of the…

Data modernization and security practices allow educational leaders to provide accurate, secure, and timely data that can be securely exchanged, shared, and connected in order to provide instant understanding of school performance, student attendance, academic performance, or funding from multiple sources. This matters because: (1) Data…

Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems grant-funded projects represent one of the most developed and systemic K-12 education data projects in U.S. history. This report reviews what types of K-12 data elements are included in state systems, data linking with other systems, and how the data are used for reporting and decision making.

Student placement test records, course enrollments, and other student-level data collected by community colleges are vital for evaluating the outcomes of students in developmental education (dev-ed) courses. Researchers and policymakers rely on this information to examine the impact of existing programs and assess ongoing reforms to dev-ed -- the…

To successfully implement Learning Analytics (LA) systems within higher education, we need to engage administrators, faculty, and staff alike. This paper is by and primarily for practitioners. We suggest implementation strategies that consider the human factor in adopting new technologies by analyzing the viability of our Learning Analytics…