WASHINGTON (November 14, 2016) – Following are the remarks of Aimee Rogstad Guidera, president and CEO of the Data Quality Campaign, a national nonprofit that advocates for the safe, effective use of education data to improve student achievement:
Today, data is enhancing every aspect of our lives. President-elect Donald Trump has the opportunity to ensure that the power of data transforms education and empowers families, students, and teachers with the information they need to support student success. With the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, states have new opportunities and responsibilities. Mr. Trump can and should use the presidential bully pulpit to empower parents and make data work for students.
Due to strategic investments and smart policies made during the Bush and Obama administrations, taxpayers and community members across the nation now have a more robust and useful picture of student learning. The success of the Trump administration’s priorities—from better informing school choice to preparing America’s students to compete globally to reducing costly administrative burden—will depend on making useful, secure, and role-appropriate data available to families, teachers, and policymakers.
It is imperative that data should be used as a flashlight to shine a light on what is working (and not working) to fuel continuous improvement, not solely used as a hammer for accountability. I urge President-elect Trump to consider the Data Quality Campaign’s five recommendations to ensure that those working to improve student achievement have access to the trusted quality information they need to support every student.
- Ensure all families have access to their own child’s data so they can be an effective partner in, and advocate for, their child’s learning.
- Increase transparency and public accountability around our schools’ progress and outcomes.
- Provide teachers the knowledge, access, and tools they need to use education data in service of student learning and help parents understand the value of student information.
- Reduce data collection burden and duplication, and build trust around the effective, ethical use and protection of data.
- Support the development of infrastructure necessary to provide timely, actionable information to families, teachers, and the public.
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Contact: Brittany Mason, 202-393-7192, bmason@dataqualitycampaign.org
About the Data Quality Campaign:
The Data Quality Campaign is a nonprofit policy and advocacy organization leading the effort to bring every part of the education community together to empower educators, families, and policymakers with quality information to make decisions that ensure students excel. For more information, go to dataqualitycampaign.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@EdDataCampaign).
