The Education Insights Center produced a series of reports culminating in recommendations for the structure and governance of a preschool through higher education and into the workforce (known as a P20W data system). This brief follows up on that series, with a focus on data quality; the brief was informed by the author's experience using…

A survey of all 50 states and District of Columbia was conducted in Fall 2020 to gain background information to inform an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant project called SLIDE: The School Librarian Investigation--Decline or Evolution? As part of the grant, a school library leader, some in a state government/agency position or…

Federal education policy in recent years has encouraged state and local education agencies to embrace data use and analysis in decision-making, ranging from policy development and implementation to performance evaluation. The capacity of these agencies to make effective and methodologically sound use of collected data for these purposes remains an…

The West Virginia Higher Education Facilities Information System was formed as a method for instituting statewide standardization of space use and classification; to serve as a vehicle for statewide data acquisition; and to provide statistical data that contributes to detailed institutional planning analysis. The result thus far is the production…

The state profiles contained in this document are based on a 1989 survey of statewide or systemwide approaches to assessment and outcomes measurement in postsecondary education. All 50 states, the territory of Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia are included. A common format provides information on the following aspects: origins of the…

Results are presented of a survey that investigated whether state agencies involved in licensure and/or program approval require "outcomes" information from colleges and universities. A brief questionnaire was completed by 45 State Higher Education Executive Officers members. For purposes of the survey, outcomes information was limited to followup…

In seeking a better match-up between the mission and the resources of the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), its senior leadership has not only been examining their own responsibility areas, but also the entire Department and how its highly varied components fit together. The starting point for this discussion paper was the State Board of…

This paper analyzes data from a 1998 survey of state academic officers that covered state policies related to distance education technology. Concerning general planning issues, the survey found most respondents rated "overall coordination and planning" as highly important, and that 22 states have a formal technology plan in place (Web…

At a time when college degrees are increasingly a prerequisite for middle-class wages, less than 40 percent of college students are able to demonstrate proficiency on literacy tests, barely half of college students graduate on time, and many do not graduate at all. At the same time. the price of college continues to increase quickly and…

In an effort to standardize the definition of the two-year college student transfer rate and to collect national transfer data, the Center for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC) has solicited data annually since 1989 from a sample of 240 public and private two-year colleges nationwide. The CSCC has standardized the definition of "transfer…

This report is a summary of Washington State's first 18 months of public higher education assessment activities. The two main sections of the report provide, first, summaries of the institutional assessment activities and, second, a discussion of the statewide assessment indicators. Specific sections examine the collection of entry-level baseline…

Issues surrounding the transfer function of California's community colleges are analyzed in this report. First, a historical overview is provided of the role of community colleges, their relationship to the California State University and the University of California systems, and expectations concerning transfer. Next, problems associated with…

This report presents 10 suggestions for what the U.S. Department of Education can do to help schools raise achievement for all students and close the achievement gap by increasing teacher quality: (1) make improving teacher quality job one; (2) insist on good data; (3) ensure that states make an immediate priority of fixing the indefensible…

This publication contains 19 refereed research papers, 2 innovative instructional practices papers, 2 presentations on works in progress, and 3 papers on research training on promoting excellence in research and teaching for business. The research papers are "Business Demands for Web-Related Skills as Compared to Other Computer Skills"…