Assessing federal education data quality and making data more useful

Challenge

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) collects a vast array of education data used to develop policies and inform programs to support its mission to “promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.”

Westat helps ED analyze these large, complex data sets and presents the data in engaging and meaningful ways, often on tight deadlines.

Solution

Our researchers draw on their deep knowledge of education data, including the Civil Rights Data Collection, the Consolidated State Performance Report, and EDFacts, to advise ED staff on the quality of the data and prepare timely, user-friendly analyses of the data.
We help ED staff
- Better understand new federal education data collections and changes to surveys
- Streamline its data analyses by identifying and combining data from multiple sources
- Focus attention on particular education problems and their policy implications by providing engaging data visualizations, including dynamic charts and interactive maps