Only weeks into its new term, the Trump administration has taken steps to lay off federally funded education research staff, cancel nearly $1 billion in contracts and dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. These moves have upended evaluations of federally funded education programs and threatened access to massive data sets that states, districts and schools rely on to make good decisions.
Even before Trump took office, education leaders have been navigating an era of resource constraints, shifting policy demands, and increased expectations for data-informed decision-making. In many cases, their challenge isn’t a lack of data (although recent moves in Washington have made this more likely)—it’s knowing how to use existing data effectively to drive meaningful change.
Given these challenges, education leaders need to arm themselves with new strategies to protect their data and use it effectively. In this paper, Juan D’Brot describes five strategies that can help. He takes a practical, action-oriented approach, offering concrete steps that education leaders can take to make better use of the data they already have.
