Government Data Connection
Using data to serve citizens, save money & improve quality of life![Calling all High School STEM educators! Teach Your Students 21st Century Computer Science Skills](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2017/01/StudentsEducators-1.png)
STEM skills are essential for many of the fastest-growing and most lucrative occupations. And SAS programmers are in high demand in all fields. A number of reports have documented a critical talent shortage, especially for graduates with advanced degrees in math, computer science or computer engineering. (See Running on Empty, Report to
!["March madness" of student course enrollment gets assist from value-added assessment](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2017/01/StudentsEducators-1.png)
As teachers head into the madness of student course registration, the madness of college basketball reinforces a critical point: Data is crucial to making the picks that lead to a winning bracket, and student growth. Value-added assessment has proven reliable in determining which students are ready for their "one shining moment". This
![Student growth measures can be the bridge to new assessments](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2014/01/Bridge.jpg)
As I embark on 2014, I reflect upon the many competing, yet interdependent, tensions discussed in education circles in 2013. In conferences, classrooms and statehouses, adults who care about kids debated the best ways to implement: New academic standards (Common Core State Standards or other College and Career Ready Standards)
![Taking local governments from Performance Management to Strategy Management](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2017/01/Analytics-1.png)
Performance management systems are becoming more important to local governments across the country. This is true for several reasons. Citizens are calling for a more accurate accounting of how their tax monies are being spent. Local government revenues have not been growing as much as in the past and, in
![Lost in translation: Interpreter business rife with fraud](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2017/01/Analytics-1.png)
Another day, another scam defrauding insurers and governments. For purposes of full disclosure, the case I'm highlighting today comes from Washington's Labor and Industries (L&I), the agency where I formerly worked and headed up fraud prevention efforts, and the investigation dates back to my time there. During my time there,
![Bold efforts, hard work pay off for Tennessee education, and my daughter](https://blogs.sas.com/content/statelocalgov/files/2017/01/Analytics-1.png)
With the others, I filed into the school gymnasium, my super zoom camera lens at the ready and a nervous smile on my face. Across the room, I caught a glimpse of my unsmiling daughter, and my apprehension grew about how this awards day program would play out for her.