Data is one of the most powerful tools to inform, engage, and create opportunities for individuals along their journeys through education and into the workforce.

Education data is any information that can be used to help individuals achieve their education and workforce goals. People often associate education data first with test scores; yet those are just one of the many types of data that support learning. Other examples include student background and demographics, enrollment and attendance, performance and growth, staff and facilities, postsecondary readiness and success, workforce outcomes, and more. Read more about education data here.

Data works for individuals when it empowers them to make decisions about their futures. Key people—like families and educators—also need timely, easy-to-understand information that they can use to support individuals in their decisionmaking. Isolated data points don’t provide a full picture of student learning, but when data comes together—under requirements like privacy and security—it can help people support all individuals to achieve their unique goals.

All states have policies that determine which stakeholders, from teachers to state officials, have access to individual-level data. Usually only those who interact with students, such as teachers and families, are allowed to see personal information. Others can access aggregate, de-identified data that enables them to better develop, implement, and evaluate policies and programs. The federal government does not have—and is legally barred from creating—any database of K–12 student-level data. Read more about who uses education data.

The Data Quality Campaign (DQC) does not collect education data of any kind, including individual-level data. DQC is an advocacy organization that provides policy recommendations and champions policies and practices that make data work for individuals throughout their education and workforce journeys. DQC receives no government funding and is supported entirely by philanthropic grants and contributions. Read more about our work.