This paper analyses how three European countries produce and use data within a specific educational policy field, that of school leaving and graduation. It compares how stakeholders in England, Finland and the Netherlands know what happens to the leavers from schools and universities. Through gathering evidence about the methodological…

This document is the fourth and final installment of this Forum series of guides on longitudinal data systems (LDS). One goal of the National Forum on Education Statistics (the Forum) is to improve the quality of education data gathered for use by policymakers and program decisionmakers. An approach to furthering this goal has been to pool the…

Established in 2006 by New Leaders for New Schools[TM], the Effective Practice Incentive Community (EPIC) initiative rewards high-need urban schools showing significant gains in student achievement. In exchange, schools agree to share the practices helping to drive those gains, which they do through an in-depth study of practice, aided by the EPIC…

Since 2006 the national Study of Education Data Systems and Decision Making, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education's Policy and Program Studies Service, has been examining both the implementation of student data systems per se and the broader set of practices involving the use of data to improve instruction, regardless of whether or not…

This brief describes how investments in student data systems are taking family engagement and student achievement to a whole new level. In addition to addressing areas where a student most needs improvement, the data can serve as a catalyst for home-school communication. Parents benefit from having information about key indicators on which they…

Presents the generalized conclusions from analytical case studies undertaken by UNESCO and the United Nations Interim Fund for Science and Technology for Development (IFSTD) on the needs and options for access to scientific and technical information in eight developing countries. (Author/JL)

Information systems can play a vital role in supporting the planning and management of development programs and, as such, they are fundamental to improving people's health, education, training, and enhancing the transparency of decisions and actions taken by public and private agencies in these and other domains. This paper examines how…

Proponents of management information systems (MIS) have traditionally held that educational administrators are in need of better management information with which to make more informed planning and policy decisions. However, few successful implementations have been reported. Literature discussing the lack of success of MIS point to such factors as…

Using the case study approach, the Merrimack Education Center was examined (1) to test the linkage model developed by Ronald Havelock, (2) to provide a model description for the benefit of others who wished to duplicate the center's program, and (3) to provide feedback to the center itself. The study produced a thumbnail sketch of the center; a…

The International Conference on Education (ICE) is convened every second year to provide an occasion for senior officials from Ministries of Education to meet and discuss developments in education. Participants at the conference, held in Geneva from 30 August to 8 September 1977, considered main trends in education and a special theme: "The…

To test the concept of linkage as a means of improving educational practice by more effective utilization of research-based knowledge and resources, the operations of the Merrimack Education Center were compared with the Havelock linkage model. On-site interviews were conducted with Center personnel and written materials were reviewed; school…