In the push to bring data to bear on all of the important education issues of the day, one essential fact is often overlooked: Not all indicators are created equal. This bookprovides a comprehensive approach for understanding how statistical measures of achievement are developed, evaluated, and interpreted. Given the extent to which accountability measures determine outcomes for schools and students, this practical introduction is essential reading for a wide audience that includes school administrators, teachers, policymakers, and the media. The authors strive to increase “statistical literacy” by engaging readers in the process of becoming thoughtful and critical users of data. With the practitioner in mind, this hands-on primer: Outlines a viable approach to interpreting the vast array of available data about education in the United States.Uses clear, jargon-free language with real examples from local, national, and international indicator systems.Offers a website (www.educationindicator.com) with additional resources, examples, and a forum for up-to-the-minute policy discussions.Mike Planty is a statistician at the U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC. Deven Carlson is a Ph.D. candidate in political science and a graduate research fellow at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. “Mike Planty and Deven Carlson have taken pity on nonexpert readers of the glut of information about schools and, in this incisive and clearly written book, show how to figure it all out.” —Jay Mathews, Washington Post education columnist “In a data-driven world where competing experts will cite conflicting stats and figures to make their case, Planty and Carlson have penned a volume that will prove invaluable to parents, practitioners, and policymakers trying to separate fact from fiction. If you want to know what’s really going on in education today, read this book.” —Frederick M. Hess, Director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute “Education researchers, policy analysts, and journalists interested in understanding what really is going on behind the ‘simple’ data that drive the education policy debate need this book.” —Jack Buckley, New York University and former Deputy Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics

The education system in the United States is continually challenged to adapt and improve, in part because its mission has become far more ambitious than it once was. At the turn of the 20th century, less than one-tenth of students enrolled were expected to graduate from high school. Today, most people expect schools to prepare all students to succeed in postsecondary education and to prosper in a complex, fast-changing global economy. Goals have broadened to include not only rigorous benchmarks in core academic subjects, but also technological literacy and the subtler capacities known as 21st-century skills. To identify the most important measures for education and other issues and provide quality data on them to the American people, Congress authorized the creation of a Key National Indicators System (KNIS). This system will be a single Web-based information source designed to help policy makers and the public better assess the position and progress of the nation across a wide range of areas. Identifying the right set of indicators for each area is not a small challenge. To serve their purpose of providing objective information that can encourage improvement and innovation, the indicators need to be valid and reliable but they also need to capture the report committee's aspirations for education. This report describes a workshop, planned under the aegis of the Board on Testing and Assessment and the Committee on National Statistics of the National Research Council. Key National Education Indicators is a summary of the meeting of a group with extensive experience in research, public policy, and practice. The goal of the workshop was not to make a final selection of indicators, but to take an important first step by clearly identifying the parameters of the challenge.

Statistical information on the whole range of American education is presented in this volume. Coverage ranges from kindergarten through graduate school, and is based upon data from both government and private sources. The main part of the book is composed of the following chapters: all levels of education, elementary and secondary education, federal programs for education and related activities, outcomes of education, international comparisons of education, and learning resources and technology. Supplemental sections on population trends, attitudes towards education, education characteristics of the labor force, government finances, and economic trends provide the background needed for evaluating education data.

Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators is the authoritative source for accurate and relevant information on the state of education around the world. It provides data on the structure, finances, and performance of education systems in the OECD’s 34 member countries, as well as a number of ...