Opportunity for Educational Improvement Lies in Data Analysis Says Keynote Speaker

Hudson is president of the National Center for Educational Accountability (NCEA) and Just for the Kids. The NCEA is a collaborative effort of the Education Commission of the States, The University of Texas at Austin, and Just for the Kids, all working to improve learning through the effective use of data about schools and students and the identification of best practices.

"Data should be used as a flashlight—moving us toward school improvement—and data analysis is the first step," said Hudson as he outlined the following three purposes of Just for the Kids, an organization charged with raising academic standards and increasing student learning.

Inform. A nationwide campaign to improve the educational data system aims to develop high-quality longitudinal data systems in every state by 2009; to promote the understanding and uses of longitudinal and financial data to improve student achievement; and to promote, develop, and use common data standards and efficient data transfer and exchange. "We need to talk about what data can and can't do at the policy level," said Hudson.

Inspire. Over the past six years, the organization has benchmarked "the best practices to reach college readiness" through a study of 525 schools in 12 states. This initiative has led to a common framework of best practices and creation of a "self audit" that school boards, principals, teachers, and even parents can use to evaluate teacher effectiveness.

Improve. The NCEA is using the data and best practices it collects to help schools improve. More districts are conducting audits to evaluate school performance and identify proven practices, said Hudson. He cited the Dallas school district as an example, noting that a grant from Texas Instruments allowed the NCEA to study 26 elementary schools enrolling mostly Latino and African American students.

"Everything we've been doing since we started Just for the Kids—the data quality campaign and years of best practices—all lead to a common challenge: How do we take the data and benchmarking and work to help schools and districts improve student achievement and college readiness?" said Hudson.

He said that while there is no "silver bullet" answer to that question, the most effective schools follow a systematic approach. They get everyone involved and incorporate data, benchmarking, and best practices into the ways they educate children.