Policymakers

Introduction

Longitudinal data - high-quality data about how individual students perform over time- enable policymakers to evaluate which policy initiatives show the best evidence of increasing student achievement. Vital policy conversations now under way – conversations about increasing the rigor and relevance of high school, improving teacher quality, promoting higher graduation rates, and reducing achievement gaps among student populations – increasingly acknowledge that such efforts will not be successful unless they are informed by reliable longitudinal, student level data. By asking the right questions, policymakers can obtain answers that help them to understand the full financial and educational impact of potential legislative and administrative changes in state education policies.

The Suggested Reading List to the right provides several resources that are particularly relevant to policymakers and their role building, using, and sustaining longitudinal data systems. Other suggested ways of navigating the library include:

• Select your state in the Browse by State tool to view resources pertaining to your state specifically.
• As you come across topics that you are interested in learning more about, search by keywords in Search Resources or by topic in Browse by Topic to get a better national picture.
• If you know your state is working hard to develop the ten essential elements and you’re struggling with particular elements, use the Browse by 10 Essential Elements to find resources targeted at specific elements.