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2012 National Board for Education Sciences Annual Report
Briefing Material for Board Members

NCES Activities and Products

Data Systems and Data Use

  • Common Education Data Standards (CEDS) – The Common Education Data Standards (CEDS) are a national, collaborative effort to develop voluntary, common education data standards for a key subset of K-12 (e.g., demographics, program participation, course information) and K12-to-postsecondary education transition variables. Participants in the Initiative include representatives from states, districts, higher education organizations, and key non-profit organizations. The CEDS Initiative's goal is to identify a list of key K-12 and K12-to-postsecondary transition variables (expansion into PreK and the workforce will be considered in the future) and agree upon standard definitions, code sets, business rules, and technical specifications for those variables. This will increase data interoperability, portability, and comparability across states, districts, and higher education organizations.
  • Effective Practices Conferences – The Effective Practices Conferences, including the Management Information Systems (MIS) Conferences, the STATS-DC Conferences, and the SLDS P-20 Best Practices Conferences, provide venues for state and district staff to share effective practices and lessons learned, and to engage with colleagues from across state lines as well as representatives from the federal government and national non-profit organizations. These events play a key role in helping staff build relationships and cultivate a community around P-20 education data system design, development, implementation, and use.
  • National Forum on Education Statistics – NCES has established the National Forum on Education Statistics to improve the collection, reporting, and use of elementary and secondary education statistics. The Forum deals with issues in education data policy; sponsors innovations in data collection and reporting; and provides technical assistance to improve state and local data systems.
  • Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) Grant Program – IES awarded grants to 41 states and the District of Columbia to aid them in the design and implementation of statewide longitudinal data systems. These systems are intended to enhance the ability of states to efficiently and accurately manage, analyze, and use education data, including individual student records. The data systems developed with funds from these grants should help states, districts, schools, and teachers make data-driven decisions to improve student learning, as well as facilitate research to increase student achievement and close achievement gaps.