Stakeholders do not have appropriate access to these data while protecting privacy, and they do not have the capacity to use data to improve student achievement. For example, although states have made some progress linking student and teacher data, only two states automatically share this information with educator preparation institutions, limiting their ability to improve programs and ensure all educators are prepared to be effective in the classroom.
“For the first time, half of the country can answer almost any critical question confronting policymakers, and every state is poised to have this capacity by September. There are no more excuses,” said Aimee Guidera, DQC executive director. “We are at a critical juncture in education, and state policymakers must take action to ensure data are not only collected but used by education stakeholders to improve student achievement.”
To support this culture change, the state analysis identifies five key priorities that states must implement to leverage current investments and ensure data are used:
- Fulfill the 50-state commitment to implement the 10 Essential Elements by September 2011
- Link K–12 with early childhood, postsecondary, and workforce data to answer critical policy questions
- Provide teachers, students, and parents with access to longitudinal student-level data
- Share data about teacher impact on student achievement with educator preparation institutions
- Enact statewide preservice policies, including certification and licensure, and program approval, to build educator capacity to use data
The DQC’s state analysis comes at a time when states have made unprecedented progress but are also facing dramatic budget cuts. In spite of this pressure, state policymakers remain committed to supporting data use to improve student achievement.
“There is a thirst for knowledge, and once you find the right uses for data, people ask the right questions—the deeper questions,” said Gene Wilhoit, executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers. “States have disparate abilities to report…there will be an effort to get into the states and analyze where the deficiencies are.”
Wilhoit added that stakeholders are “getting better at presenting data and also realize audiences are different” and require different presentation styles.
“It has long been a guiding principle of the O’Malley-Brown Administration that the things that get measured are the things that get done,” said Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who was named the DQC’s 2010 State Policymaker of the Year. “We owe it to our students, parents, teachers and administrators to uphold the highest standards of accountability and transparency, and that starts with establishing quality education data systems to ensure Maryland students graduate high school prepared for college and highly skilled careers.”
O’Malley and key Maryland stakeholders are working to build robust statewide data systems that span early childhood to the workforce and protect data privacy, helping to ensure students graduate college and career ready.
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