Faced with the need to create a competitive workforce and improve the quality of our education system, states are pursuing policy agendas to better prepare students for postsecondary education and careers. To inform these agendas, statewide longitudinal data systems (SLDSs) have become an invaluable asset and serve as a tool to help states answer…

As state policymakers strive to ensure that every student is taught by an effective teacher and is ready for college and 21st-century careers, they must also make drastic budget cuts. States cannot do more with less without collecting and using quality data to determine which programs and policies increase student achievement and the state's…

No school is an island; it is a part of a continuum or a pipeline of institutions which together form an educational pipeline through which groups of students pass. To turn a body of data into useful information for knowledge-based decision-making at any level, data must be collected, organised, analysed and reflected upon. The purpose of this…

State education data systems have often been described as data rich but information poor. Historically, these systems were created for compliance purposes and, therefore, designed and managed as information technology projects, but a culture change is under way. Educators and other stakeholders are beginning to value data as a tool to inform…

The activities of Project TRANSACTION, a 10-year research and development project of the College Scholarship Service division of the College Board, are described. The project is intended to unify the student financial aid delivery system through application of electronic information technologies. (Author/MLW)

Explores the development of the systems architecture designed to meet problems identified by an evaluation of management information systems in Minnesota elementary, secondary, and vocational (ESV) education. Now a component of the long-range state plan for ESV information systems, the architecture integrates hardware, application systems, and…

Highlights lessons learned by a national organization, the Council of Chief State School Officers, in building an education indicator system in cooperation with federal and state education agencies. Issues emphasized are (1) the role of consensus; (2) production of indicators through a cooperative data system; and (3) reporting methods. (SLD)

A series of 11 articles describes information technologies being used in the U.S. Congress, the impact of these technologies, and possible future developments. Included are a chronology of key actions affecting congressional information support and a list of readings in information technology and Congress. (CLB)

The theme of the 1976 convention of the Association for Educational Data Systems (AEDS) was educational data processing and information systems. Special attention was focused on educational management information systems, computer centers and networks, computer assisted instruction, computerized testing, guidance, and higher education. This…