Data Quality Campaign Releases Call to Action Report

In its latest analysis released today, this national initiative shares how education policy plays out around the states and what data priorities should appear on state to-do lists.

Over the past year, federal policymakers have funded state longitudinal data systems through grants including the Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems Grant program. Though this program, 41 states and the District of Columbia have received $515 million, with more to come.

In December, newly finalized Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act regulations started clearing up confusion over how states can use student data while keeping it private and secure.

The report from the Data Quality Campaign provides questions that state policymakers, district administrators, teachers and others can ask about a number of issues. A few of those questions follow:

• State policymakers: Do my state's policies ensure a measurably effective educator workforce?
• District administrators: Which schools have the greatest percentage of effective teachers?
• Teachers: With which students am I consistently most effective?

Along with the questions, the campaign calls on states to place four priorities on the top of their to-do list:

1. With input from many different people, figure out what critical policy questions states should use to guide their development, implementation and evaluation of data efforts.
2. Give state P-20/workforce data governance bodies authority to address tough issues about how people can access, share and use data.
3. Share how teachers and their students do in class with colleges of education and teacher preparation programs.
4. Decide whether high school feedback reports meet school or district needs and change them based on input from people who evaluate them.

According to the Data Quality Campaign, states can meet these priorities this year.