States Make Progress on Tracking Quality Education Data, Analysis Says

For the first time, every state in the nation can empower educators, parents and lawmakers with quality data, according to an annual analysis released today by the Data Quality Campaign.

Thirty-six states have all 10 of the campaign's Elements of Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems, up from 24 states last year. These states link student performance from pre-K to postsecondary education, track student progress through a unique student identifier and include student-level transcript data, among other things.

Along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, every state has eight elements or more except Montana, which has seven. But they have their work cut out for them when it comes to translating data collection into action.

"Just increasing this capacity isn't going to make any difference in increasing student achievement or improving system performance unless we also make the changes to ensure that this information is actually being used by education stakeholders," said Aimee Guidera, executive director of the Data Quality Campaign, in a media briefing. 

The 2 toughest data actions for states

Of the 10 state actions that the Data Quality Campaign calls for, action five and action nine are the hardest because they require cultural changes and actions that normally fall under local control, Guidera said. Because they're so hard, only two states have accomplished every aspect of action five: Arkansas — the only state that's taken nine of the actions — and New Hampshire, which has taken six of the 10 actions.  

Action five asks states to implement systems that provide educators, parents, students and lawmakers with timely information while maintaining student privacy.

"It's a high bar, and what it does is it reinforces our strong belief that data doesn't serve any purpose if no one can see it, if no one can access it and no one knows how to use it," Guidera said.

Action nine calls for states to implement policies and promote practices that help educators understand how to access, analyze and use data appropriately. Only three states met all seven pieces of action 9: Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Preparing educators to understand how to use data to inform their instruction is one of the major challenges that faces states. That preparation needs to take place before they enter the classroom, Guidera said.

But it's only happening in 10 states that require data literacy for program approval and certification. And in all but six states, educator preparation programs don't know how their graduates do in this area.

The six states that do share information with schools inside their boundaries include Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Arkansas, Tennessee and Louisiana.

However, three states are piloting information sharing across state lines, Guidera said. The Bush Foundation is investing $40 million in a partnership with 14 teacher preparation programs in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. The Network for Excellence in Teaching works on improving teacher effectiveness through recruiting, preparation, placing and supporting teachers.

The foundation agreed to invest in the schools of education in exchange for greater transparency about how their graduates do, Guidera said. If school districts don't think their teachers are highly effective based on the data, they can send them back to the education school for further training at no cost to them.

Preparing educators to use this data presents a challenge for states. But they can overcome the challenge by changing license and certification requirements to include data literacy, Guidera said. And states can also provide constant in-service and pre-service training.

Every state can learn from Oregon, one of the few states that takes a holistic view of preparing teachers with skills and knowledge to use data, she said. Through the Oregon Direct Access to Achievement Project, the Oregon Education Department works with local school boards, unions, administrators, teachers and schools of education to build a system of continuous professional development.

"This data stuff, it isn't a project; you're never done with it," Guidera said. "It's a continual process of all of us learning how to get smarter with it, how to use it, how to keep up with the new advances and the new information, and I think it's a life skill."