We hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving! Today we continue our celebration of things we are thankful for by releasing our Empowering Parents fact sheet, part of our Data for Action 2012 policy issue series. After all, as education advocates, we would be remiss in not mentioning our gratitude for the great and difficult work that parents do in supporting their children.
Parents are an essential part of DQC’s upcoming focus on informing and empowering people to effectively use data. Today’s release points out that only nine states provide parents with role-based access to the statewide longitudinal data system—a critical information center that can help parents make decisions regarding their children’s education.
We know that both states and districts play a key role in helping parents access important information. States are particularly well-positioned to provide a few vital pieces of information for parents. First, states can provide high-quality data links between early childhood, K–12, and postsecondary education. Next, states can provide the context around what student performance looks like compared to comparable and nearby schools and districts. States can also provide key benchmark information about where students should be, given their grade level and standards, compared to where students are. In addition to the benchmarking information, states can give parents access to longitudinal data that demonstrate student growth over time. Finally, states can provide important analytics about the progress students are making toward college and career readiness.
As DQC launches into its next phase, focusing on people and the effective use of data, we are excited to continue learning about how to best empower parents with student data. A few states are helping lead the way in this arena, notably Colorado, which has implemented a comprehensive tool called SchoolView. We encourage you to look at our fact sheet, admire SchoolView, and tell us your story about parents and data use!
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