Back to Apply Breadcrumb Home Apply Goal #2: Advance K-12 Student Outcomes Essential Questions Identify your essential question(s) about K-12 outcomes. Select from the framework’s essential questions or draft your own. Leading with essential questions can help you understand and prioritize what data you need to collect to answer those questions. The process of defining essential questions can also be a way to bring people together to agree on shared priorities. Example For example, you want to understand, “Are students meeting reading and math benchmarks in grades 3 and 8?” Indicators Once you have identified your essential question(s), assess what data (indicators and metrics) you need to answer the question(s). What data can you already access? For which indicators would you need additional information? Example To answer the question above, you would need data on math and reading proficiency in grade 3 and math and reading proficiency in grade 8. You are also interested in understanding whether students have access to effective teaching to help them achieve proficiency, so you decide to gather data on teacher credentials and teacher experience. Disaggregates Disaggregate data to understand trends and patterns. Breaking data down by different populations, system conditions, or experiences can help data users assess disparities, expose hidden trends, and make informed decisions that lead to more equitable outcomes. Example If you are interested in the extent to which English learners are achieving these outcomes and milestones relative to native English speakers, you might disaggregate data on these indicators by English learner status. Evidence-based Practices Once you have collected and analyzed data to understand trends and patterns, use this information to select evidence-based practices to improve supports or outcomes related to your essential question(s). Using data to guide your selection of practices can help you make choices that meet the unique needs and opportunities in your community. Image Example If the data show that native English speakers have higher rates of math and reading proficiency and greater access to credentialed, highly experienced teachers than do native English speakers, you may advocate for interventions that provide both individualized supports for English learners, such as small, personalized learning communities, as well as system supports for educators, such as teacher coaching and professional development. Example Equitable Data Practices Hold listening sessions with K–12 community members—such as students, teachers, and administrators—to understand what essential questions are most pressing for the community. Collaborators can provide input on whether you have prioritized the right essential questions and what data you should collect to answer those questions (Data Equity Principle 1).Apply privacy-enhancing technologies, such as encryption or secure hashing, to protect student data while maintaining the data’s usefulness. To maintain confidentiality when reporting data, avoid reporting in a way that could lead to an individual being identified, such as reporting information on small groups of individuals in a specific district or school (Data Equity Principle 2). Disaggregate both outcome and systems data to illuminate any disparities in how students are experiencing their K–12 journeys, not just how they are progressing on outcomes. Break down data by both individual characteristics (such as disability status or race and ethnicity) and system characteristics (such as K–12 school type) to empower communities to make more informed decisions that focus on improving systems, avoid inadvertently placing blame on particular groups, and ultimately achieve more equitable outcomes (Data Equity Principle 3). Looking for Data? To identify readily available data for advancing K–12 student outcomes, explore the external data sources suggested below—and don’t forget to seek out state and local data sources that are unique to your community.Condition of Education Dashboard – National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The Condition of Education contains key indicators on all levels of education, labor force outcomes, and international comparisons. The indicators summarize important developments and trends using the latest statistics that are updated throughout the year. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). NAEP reports assessment results at the state level, most often in grades 4 and 8, in four subjects—mathematics, reading, science, and writing. Because NCES administers the same assessment in every state, NAEP provides a common measure for student achievement in public schools across the country.Education Data Explorer – Urban Institute. Developed by the Urban Institute, this tool allows you to build your own data set by narrowing your search by education level, geography, time frame, and indicator. The Data Explorer makes it easy to generate rigorous, accurate, and actionable insights to improve student outcomes.Stanford Education Data Archive (SEDA) – Stanford University. Developed by Stanford University’s Educational Opportunity Project, SEDA is a national database that includes applications and research articles on national academic performance from public-school test scores in grades 3–8 from 2008 to 2023. You can download and access SEDA and related data sets to start your own research or view interactive dashboards and export reports on measures of educational opportunity, COVID impact and recovery data, and more. Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) – U.S. Department of Education. CRDC is a biennial survey required by the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. The CRDC includes data from a universe of all public local educational agencies and schools, including justice facilities, charter schools, and alternative schools. It focuses on civil rights indicators related to access and barriers to educational opportunities from early childhood through grade 12.