Don’t Call It a Rebrand
By now, you’ve hopefully seen with your own eyes the awesome upgrades we’ve made to our website. In addition to the new stories, resource library, and state tools, you might notice something else that’s different: a new logo!
Before we launched the new site, I shared our intention to release a new logo with a few colleagues (inside and outside DQC) and was often met with the same response, “You are guys are rebranding. Cool.” According to the (mostly) reliable source Wikipedia, “Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors, and competitors.”
I don’t believe this applies to our new website, or even our logo.
DQC’s tagline has always been, “Using data to improve student achievement.” We still believe that. We believe in it so much that we wanted to add a visual representation of what this means. The diploma in our D stands for more than just high school graduation but success throughout the education systems. The gold-sealed, rolled up piece of paper could be carried by a kindergartener’s parents as they’re leaving his or her graduation ceremony, thrust into the air by a first-generation college graduate, or gripped tightly by an adult who has just received a training certificate that will open new job opportunities.
So don’t call it a rebrand, because we aren’t creating a new identity. We’re reinforcing who we’ve always been: an organization of passionate individuals committed to improving outcomes for students through effective data use.
Where Does Your State Stand?
Has your state made progress on DQC’s 10 State Actions to Ensure Effective Data Use? Find out whether your state is taking steps like linking data systems, developing governance structures, creating reports using longitudinal statistics, or promoting strategies to raise awareness of available data. Visit the newly redesigned Your State’s Progress section of DQC’s website to learn about efforts states are making to create a culture of effective data use in which quality data are not only collected but also used to increase student achievement.
The Your State’s Progress section of the website shares results and analyses from Data for Action 2012, DQC’s annual survey on the progress of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico toward implementing the 10 State Actions and addressing other key policy issues. Easy-to-use tools help stakeholders understand the Actions states have in place—and ways states can improve—to better use data in education decisionmaking.
Be sure to explore these special state-specific features:
- Take an at-a-glance view of the Actions each state has implemented using the new interactive map.
- Dive into the criteria the state has met to achieve each Action.
- Find out where your state stands by comparing up to five states at both the Action and the criteria levels.
- Read about how your state is working to achieve a culture of data use and connect data and policy.
- Check out checklists that show whether your state has met critical data considerations in the areas of teacher effectiveness and college- and career-readiness policies.
- Know who to contact in your state to learn more.
Take a national view of creating a culture of data use by reading our annual report and learning about our recommendations for states to move forward with each Action. Navigate our national maps for each Action to see how the number of states that have implemented each Action has grown over time.
Use your state’s survey results to kick start a conversation in your state! Information from the survey can help stakeholders in your state talk about topics such as linking data systems across the education pipeline; ensuring that data can be accessed, analyzed, and used; and building the capacity of all stakeholders to use longitudinal data.
