As a nation, we need every student reading and doing math on grade level. Annual assessment data on student academic performance is critical to inform parents, educators, and the public about how our schools are performing, and it helps to identify where research-based interventions are needed to ensure that all students can be successful.
Annual, comparable, statewide assessments also give state and district leaders and policymakers the ability to focus resources on problem areas, find strategies that work, and reward results. Without this information, decision-makers are forced to spend taxpayer money based on guesses and then hope for the best. Objective, comparable data and timely, transparent reporting of data will rightly keep the focus rightly on student success within the education system.
The Bush Institute has created a resource, the State of Our Cities report, that provides a starting point for understanding and using available data from multiple sources. Find information about your city’s school district or your local school with these easy-to-use report cards and turn data into action. The tool also includes data from our Global Report Card, which allows city scores with global competitors.
