Power of Longitudinal Data: Measuring Student Academic Growth - The use of growth models statewide requires that states develop longitudinal data systems to track individual student performance over time. This report identifies the eight essential elements which should be incorporated in the growth model and indicates the policy and practice questions growth models can help address. (Data Quality Campaign, 2008)...

Teachers' Use of Student Data Systems to Improve Instruction: 2005 to 2007 - Using data from national surveys of teachers and school districts, this brief documents the results of efforts to promote data-informed decision-making within schools. Estimates of the prevalence of K-12 teachers’ access to and use of electronic student data systems at two time points (schools years 2004-05 and 2006-07) are provided. Specifically, the brief addresses three research questions: (1) How broadly are student data systems being implemented in districts and schools; (2) How prevalent are supports for data use and tools for generating and acting on data; and, (3) How are school staff using student data systems. (Lawrence Gallagher, Barbara Means and Christine Padilla, U.S. Department of Education, 2008)...

The State of Our Nation’s Youth, 2003-2004 - This survey, the latest in a series, reports on the lives and aspirations of American youth ages 13-19. Young people share both facts and opinions on their futures, schools, families and their country’s future, and their day-to-day lives outside school. Eighty-eight percent of youth surveyed believe that college is “critical” or “very important” for success, and 80% of responents plan to go to a four-year college. Fifty percent of young people surveyed said that if they could, they would spend more time with their family. The greatest percentage (29%) of high school students expressed “a lot of interest” in a possible career in technology, while 48% expressed “no interest at all” in a potential career in government or public service. (Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc., August 2004)...