Current Projects
The Forum convenes working groups to produce resources that are:
- related to education data standards, quality, collection, use, reporting, or management;
- useful to a large audience within the education data community (often staff in schools, school districts, and state education agencies);
- consistent with the Forum mission; and
- not currently available from other organizations.
Working groups are comprised of Forum members, representatives of collaborating organizations (when, for example, a topic overlaps with another organization's area of expertise), Federal staff, and other experts. To ensure that working group products meet the high quality standards of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the National Forum on Education Statistics, working groups are expected to share progress reports and review drafts throughout the development process so that Forum members have an opportunity to review, offer feedback and, ultimately, approve all Forum resources prior to publication. Upon final publication of a document, the working group is disbanded and assigned status as a "completed project."
Working Groups
School Courses for the Exchange of Data (SCED) Working Group: The working group is developing SCED Version 12, which will include new and updated courses based on recommendations from SCED users. The group also is updating SCED tools and resources, including the SCED Finder and the Master List.
Data Quality Working Group: The working group is developing a new resource that will provide best practices useful for states and districts to maintain quality data as these agencies regularly review and revise their methods for working with data, as well as their expectations for all staff who are responsible for education data and its quality. This document also will highlight U.S. Department of Education (ED) efforts to improve data quality. The information provided will help states and districts that may be seeking to improve or further develop their policies and practices related to data quality.
Data Literacy Working Group: The working group is developing a new resource that will help education agencies promote data literacy among agency staff and stakeholders such as parents, community members, students, and others. This new resource will discuss how data literacy needs vary among stakeholders, identify the best practices that agencies are using to assist different audiences with understanding education data, and describe considerations for each audience to engage with data more fully.
Student Learning Data During Pandemic School Closures and Beyond Working Group: The working group is developing a new resource focused on how agencies are approaching the effect of school closures and adjusted learning models on student learning. This new resource will highlight the ways local and state education agencies (LEAs and SEAs) are investigating student learning trends during and following school shutdowns, and their plans to use data to create a road to recovery for students and schools.
Technology for Teaching and Learning Working Group: The working group is developing a new resource that will help education agencies appropriately select, responsibly manage, and effectively support the use of educational technology. The new resource will be a companion publication to the 2019 Forum Guide to Technology Management in Education and specifically focus on the policies, processes, and best practices involved in the planning, selection, implementation, management, and support of educational technology.
