State leaders need to answer increasingly complex questions about how policy decisions across early care and education, K–12, postsecondary and workforce systems connect to long-term economic mobility. Answering those questions requires coherent, aligned data systems that allow states to understand learner pathways over time and across sectors.
The Education-to-Workforce (E-W) Indicators Framework, developed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Mathematica, offers states a structure for doing just that. The framework helps leaders ask essential questions about learner progress and outcomes and identify whether existing data systems can support meaningful answers.
To help states move from concept to practice, we developed a set of practical, state-focused resources that support the use of the E-W Framework to strengthen data collection, reporting and use.
From Framework to Action
This toolkit is designed to meet states where they are — whether they are just beginning to examine their data systems or actively modernizing them. The four interconnected resources are designed to guide states through the full improvement cycle:
- Start with the essential questions to assess your state’s data readiness.
- Review common gaps and opportunities across states.
- Explore what’s in your state’s data dictionaries.
- See what education-to-workforce data states report.
Together, these tools help states move beyond siloed analysis and toward coordinated, learner-centered data systems that support effective policy decision-making.
Access the full toolkit and begin using it with your state team.
Bringing Clarity to a Fragmented Landscape
Every state and the District of Columbia maintains systems to collect, store and report education data. At least 33 states operate an active statewide longitudinal data system (SLDS), and an additional nine are in the process of establishing one. These systems vary considerably in the data they collect, how they gather and house the data, and how they use information to support stakeholders, including policymakers, educators, learners, employers and communities, in strengthening education-to-career pathways. Governance structures and oversight processes for SLDSs also differ across states.
States often struggle to understand what their systems can truly answer, how they compare to peers and where targeted investments would have the greatest impact.
This project was designed to address those challenges by:
- Bringing coherence to a fragmented national SLDS landscape.
- Increasing transparency around what states collect, report and can realistically use.
- Providing tools that help states move from inquiry to action.
The result is one of the most comprehensive examinations of state education-to-workforce data systems to date, including an expanded 50-State Comparison, state-level SLDS profiles, and new insights into how states sustain these systems financially and structurally.
Learning From States and From One Another
This work was shaped through close partnership with states, and their experiences show that while no two state systems look exactly alike, states benefit from seeing their data systems clearly and comparatively.
In-depth case studies illustrate how Colorado, the District of Columbia and Washington are already using the framework to assess gaps, align agencies and improve reporting. Read the case studies to see the framework in action.
Why This Work Matters Across Policy Priorities
Strong data systems are the connective tissue across nearly every state education policy priority — from early care and education and student attendance to educator workforce, aligned pathways and postsecondary value. Our education-to-workforce resources provide:
- A shared evidence base to ground policy conversations.
- Practical examples of how states can learn from one another.
- A way to connect community-level questions to state-level policy decisions.
Every state collects a great deal of data on education and the workforce. By identifying the data they have and planning to collect the data they need, state leaders can help create a culture of information that advances every resident’s education and economic opportunity. As states look to strengthen outcomes across the education continuum, these tools offer a common foundation for collaboration and continuous improvement.
