Conversations around equity in education are at a fever pitch. Decades of research show that students of color and low-income students are disproportionately taught by less effective or more inexperienced teachers. Civil rights leaders encouraged the Obama administration to require states to develop Equity Plans to ensure that every student
During the week when everyone hanging onto their money until the last day files their taxes here in the U.S., I find it valuable to reflect on what won’t happen this week. Based on studies from the IRS, an estimated $458 Billion WON’T be appropriately reported or paid. This is
As Tax Week arrives, tax agencies may be overlooking fraud happening under their noses – fraud perpetrated by insider threats. While the agencies are focused on the hot fraud topics of the day – identity verification quizzing, protecting PIN files, and cybersecurity – insider threats pose a particularly insidious risk.
Did you know that January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month in the United States? If not, you may not know that researchers estimate that human trafficking is a global industry with revenues from $51 to $99 billion annually, up from $32 billion just a few years ago. In this case,
This predictive analytics post continues a blog series that highlights education leaders sharing successes and challenges of using data to drive school improvement. Sampson County Schools is a small rural school district in southeastern North Carolina. While overall graduation rates in the county were improving, one school wanted to do
As states build systems to evaluate the effectiveness of educator preparation programs, they must first know what “effectiveness” looks like. Are the characteristics of the candidates in the program, such as high school GPA, ACT or SAT score, or other admissions criteria, the most important indicators? What about the curriculum
With educator preparation programs (EPPs) under fire, states must make difficult decisions on how to hold EPPs accountable, provide information for program improvement, and offer consumer information to the public on EPP efficacy. In conversations I’ve had with state leaders grappling with this issue, I have seen a debate arise
This student projections post kicks off a series highlighting education leaders sharing the celebrations, and challenges, of using data to drive school improvement. These are real teachers, principals and superintendents working to foster academic growth for every student in their schools and districts. As we near the end of the first
When protecting children, “entity resolution” can reduce the things agencies don’t know they don’t know. It’s a technological capability I wish I’d had when I led a child protective services agency. I have been involved in hundreds of determinations that would alter a child’s life trajectory. I was comfortable with
Data integration helps a successful business make things simple and quick for customers, and keeps them coming back. While a company will have data silos, data held within one area is made available to others in order to help the customer. In most local, county and state governments that is
