Two NEW DQC resources on education data and COVID-19 recovery
Pastors and parents, here is one way you can influence your students’ education for the better.
The Data Quality Campaign (DQC) released the first two resources in a series of four that identify the short- and long-term recommendations that educational leaders should take to promote recovery in their states and districts and to ensure that students succeed.
As you and I both know, states and districts face unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 crisis, and we know of the importance of in-person learning and the reality that continued closures stand to negatively impact the welfare of America’s youth, especially historically marginalized students of color and of lower SES groups. Just last week, the White House announced their commitment to reopening schools safely in the fall. Information on the White House Roundtable Discussion Event on Safely Reopening America’s Schools, can be found here, and to read more on the Administration’s efforts to reopen schools safely, you can click here.
DCQ writes, “As [state and district leaders] continue to consider and implement solutions, one thing is clear: successful recovery depends on data.”
Their first resource, Promoting Transparency and Maintaining Public Trust: Report Cards and the COVID-19 Crisis, shares action steps for state leaders to release updated report cards this year to inform local decision-making and recovery efforts, and consider how they can use their state’s report card to share updates on recovery efforts and ensure transparency moving forward. They write, “Report cards are states’ most public-facing documents. To support COVID-19 recovery, states and districts must fulfill their responsibility to the public and demonstrate their commitment to transparency by sharing this information in clear, actionable report cards.”
The second resource, Using Data to Understand What Works: Research and the COVID-19 Crisis, discusses steps that state and district leaders should take to ensure that research supports recovery, including adapting their state’s research agenda to answer the most pressing questions, mobilizing research partnerships and investing in building an effective research infrastructure. DCQ says, “State and district budgets are spread thin as a result of the pandemic, leaving state and district leaders to make tough decisions about what to prioritize and where to invest resources during the COVID-19 crisis and recovery. Actionable research provides state and district leaders with insights into the policies and programs that best serve their communities.”
Pastors and parents, to influence your students’ education for the better I encourage you to send these resources to your local and state educational leaders. If you need help in how to do that, please feel free to email me at fecoalition@nhclc.org and I would be glad to assist.
Let’s continue to urge our leaders to commit to strong accountability, fuller transparency, and data-informed decisions.
Rev. Girien R. Salazar
Executive Director, FE Coalition
