Abstract

This article explores ways to improve the use and usefulness of four large and independently developed U.S. Education Department (ED) school-based data collections: the annual EDFacts’ student outcomes on state assessments and high school graduation rates; the annual Common Core of Data’s student and teacher counts and district and state finances; the biennial Civil Rights Data Collection’s topics on access and barriers to opportunity; and the biennial National Teacher and Principal Survey’s data on demographics, salaries, training, and opinions. Three data sets cover the universe of K–12 schools and districts. To make these collections more useful, the paper proposes combining these separate data sets at school, district and state levels; linking collections into longitudinal/time series files, improving timeliness and accuracy, and developing a single portal for online access with a comprehensive data tool (e.g., NAEP Data Explorer). The new data system would greatly increase scholars and practitioners capacity to examine and explore relationships between outcomes and inputs over time. The paper suggests expanding data uses including for building education indicators, benchmarking, and evaluations; supporting nonfederal users; and building a report bank.

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