Purpose: The unanticipated changes in state legislation in Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee, and Wisconsin in 2011-12 significantly restricted or entirely prohibited the collective bargaining rights of teachers. Considering these institutional changes as a natural experiment, we examine the causal impact of weakening teacher unionization on…

While many campuses have access to and publish equity-focused data, it can be difficult to share that data with the campus community in a way that engages multiple offices. This article outlines the Equity Liaison Initiative at the University of Wisconsin--La Crosse, which engages individuals from most offices on campus with equity-focused data to…

Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin (FAEW) distributed 84% more food to community members in need during the COVID-19 pandemic than in the prior year. Though systems were in place to manage food receipt and distribution data, social distancing requirements and technological barriers revealed inefficiencies in utilizing this data. In pursuit of…

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…

The Forum is pleased to present the "Forum Guide to Student Learning Data During Pandemic School Closures and Beyond." The purpose of this resource is to review how local education agencies (LEAs) and state education agencies (SEAs) changed their approaches to collecting and using student data during the pandemic and how they are working…

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UWL), as a public comprehensive regional university of approximately 10,500 students, utilized National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) data regarding advising to jumpstart several key advancements that have yielded positive improvements as indicated in the most recent NSSE assessment data. Despite strong…

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,…

As tuition rates for higher education rise, universities are under increased pressure from internal and external stakeholders to document outcomes such as graduation rates. To do so, higher education institutions must use data effectively. This paper examines the University of Wisconsin--Stout's (UW-Stout) strategies for data use in the…

States provide a variety of public services to support the healthy growth and development of young children. These services are often administered by several different agencies within a state, and it isn't unusual for young children to receive services from multiple agencies simultaneously. This can lead to challenges for policymakers, agency…

Founded in 1964 and housed within the University of Wisconsin-Madison's School of Education, the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) is one of the nation's oldest and most highly regarded education research and development centers. While there is notable diversity in the focus areas and methodological approaches of WCER scholars whose…

This report provides findings from an evaluation of the newly designed Illinois High School to College Success Report (HS2CSR). The evaluation study examined the dissemination, usefulness, and impact on collaborative efforts of the new HS2CSR. Education stakeholders' suggestions for improving the report are also included. Recommendations to…

Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) programs are growing in popularity in higher education settings and a key component is the use of work groups, which require active employee involvement. The problem addressed in this research was the lack of employee engagement in the Quality Review Process (QRP), which is a statewide CQI model developed by…

While teachers face new expectations for student learning and more equitable educational outcomes, instruction and assessment remain rooted in traditional approaches that are largely inequitable, culturally irrelevant, and intellectually disengaging, contributing to gaps in academic achievement across student groups (Darling-Hammond, 2010; King…

Across the United States many chemistry departments are engaged in developing assessment plans. New guidelines from the American Chemical Society (ACS) Committee on Professional Training request a department's latest self-assessment and a plan for acting on the recommendations. This manuscript describes assessment practices at institutions ranging…

This brief reviews results of an Annie E. Casey Foundation sponsored project that challenged local data intermediaries in eight cities (all partners in the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership, NNIP) to use their data to promote strengthening of their local school readiness systems. The project showed it was possible to develop rich…