States create annual aggregate report cards for the public about education statewide. But can people easily find and understand these reports? In many cases, the answer is no.
In summer 2016, the Data Quality Campaign (DQC) set out to discover what information it could easily find on state report cards from all 50 states and DC, how it was displayed, and whether it was accessible and understandable to a broad public audience. From a simple internet search, the organization explored whether statewide information can be easily found by parents, educators, and members of the community-not whether information exists anywhere, buried under many pages of a website.
DQC’s new report, Show Me the Data, demonstrates that most states are not communicating effectively with the public through high-quality state report cards. Findings show that while all states create annual report cards for the public with important data about how their students and schools are doing across the state, these reports are often difficult to find and understand.
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