海角大神

Fifteen years ago, only one state publicly tracked the number of students missing enough school to be considered chronically absent.

Now, 49 states publish data online about chronic absenteeism, which is generally defined as missing 10% or more of the academic year. Data has been key to tackling an attendance problem that ballooned during the pandemic to nearly a third of students. The rate of chronic absenteeism has dipped modestly in many places, but it remains elevated compared with pre-pandemic school years.

鈥淚f you don鈥檛 know that a problem exists, you don鈥檛 act on it,鈥� says Hedy Chang, executive director of Attendance Works, a nonprofit focused on reducing chronic absenteeism.

Chronic absenteeism is among numerous data points collected by local, state, and federal education officials in a bid to improve student learning. It鈥檚 typically a behind-the-scenes task that comes to light every so often via test scores, graduation rates, and other markers of student success or struggles.

But the future of federal data collection is murky given deep downsizing at the Education Department and a proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year that slashes funding for the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). The Trump administration鈥檚 funding request for IES 鈥� the research and data arm of the department 鈥� totals $261.3 million. That represents a 67% decrease from fiscal year 2024.

The question underlying possible congressional approval: Will this worsen education outcomes for America鈥檚 schoolchildren, who already are struggling with generational low test scores? Or could reforming the way in which data is studied jumpstart an effort to improve federal research?

The agency, in its budget proposal, framed the changes as an opportunity for 鈥渞eimagining a more efficient, effective, and useful IES.鈥�

Last month, the Education Department hired Amber Northern, from the conservative-leaning Thomas B. Fordham Institute, to lead the overhaul. The agency鈥檚 announcement also took swipes at the current iteration of the institute, albeit without supporting details.

鈥淚ES has failed to provide a clear and compelling research agenda that puts students at the center,鈥� a press release states. 鈥淚ts research contracts often prioritized politically charged topics and entrenched interests over classroom best practices and tools, even while American students experienced historic levels of learning loss following the COVID-19 pandemic.鈥�

Requests to the Education Department asking for more details about the contracts referred to went unanswered.

Not all federal data collection is going away. The National Assessment of Educational Progress, for instance, would remain. That test offers a peek into how the nation鈥檚 fourth graders and eighth graders are faring in math and reading. In recent years, the NAEP results have shown dismal outcomes, especially in reading, and have fanned partisan flames over education policy.

Why solid data matters

The proposed funding cuts, however, have drawn skepticism despite the administration鈥檚 suggestion that improvement is the end goal.

Sean Reardon, an education professor at Stanford University, says the move could set the United States鈥� education system back to the 1990s or earlier, when comparable data collection was slim to none.

鈥淚t鈥檚 impossible to learn if we don鈥檛 have information about what鈥檚 going on and what鈥檚 working,鈥� says Dr. Reardon, who is also the developer of the Stanford Education Data Archive. 鈥淲e have 13,000 school districts in the country that are relatively autonomous.鈥�

Attendance Works鈥� latest report urges states to continue drilling down into chronic absenteeism data to look for patterns that could lead to solutions. As far as Ms. Chang is concerned, it鈥檚 not an either-or situation.

鈥淲e should have federal data collection,鈥� she says. 鈥淎t the same time, I will say it鈥檚 also going to be now even more essential and important that states continue to collect their own data 鈥� and ideally, they continue to collect data in relatively common ways to each other.鈥�

One group鈥檚 approach is to model how federal research should be done. The Alliance for Learning Innovation, a coalition formed in 2023, is sharing its vision on Capitol Hill later this month. The coalition鈥檚 blueprint for future federal efforts 鈥� crafted with input from dozens of researchers 鈥� promotes investing in research and innovation, empowering state and local leaders to scale proven methods, and collecting high-quality, timely data, says Sara Schapiro, executive director of the alliance.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 working well in Mississippi? How can we get that going in Maryland?鈥� she says, explaining the desire to replicate bright spots across the country. Students in Mississippi, a historically poorer state, have bucked national trends and posted stronger NAEP reading scores in recent years.

For now, Ms. Schapiro says she is 鈥渟omewhat optimistic鈥� the Education Department will rebuild core research and development functions. But that positivity is laced with a caveat.

鈥淗ow much money will they actually put behind it?鈥� she says. 鈥淲ill they actually rehire some of these positions or reenvision the positions but hire enough capacity to deliver on this? I鈥檓 not sure.鈥�

How one school uses 鈥渄ata day鈥�

Nearly 700 miles away from the nation鈥檚 capital, a high school in Piedmont, Alabama, has embraced diving into numbers on the hyperlocal level. Principal Adam Clemons says Piedmont High School has created an 鈥淎CT culture鈥� that gives students multiple chances to take the standardized college admissions test for free each year.

In this former cotton mill town situated between Birmingham and Atlanta, the 1,100-student school district is the largest employer, Dr. Clemons says. Earning a higher score on the ACT could be students鈥� ticket to college scholarships and greater job opportunities.

But Dr. Clemons says the data from ACT results, mock college admissions tests, and other metrics such as attendance identifies where students are excelling and which students need the most help. Roughly every five weeks, the high school has a 鈥渄ata day鈥� that brings staff members together to analyze the numbers and tailor their teaching accordingly.聽

Data can feel overwhelming to the average person, Dr. Clemons says, and parents don鈥檛 always understand how necessary it is at levels big and small.

So the school leader has started taking photos for social media to spread the word.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not like we鈥檙e just sitting here with our feet propped up reading the newspaper,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e actually diving deep into the data to make the instructional changes.鈥�