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District leaders and educators have known for years that effective data use is a critical lever to improve student outcomes. Over time, many K-12 districts have organized themselves to prioritize traditional data points like attendance, test scores, and high school graduation. However, even as more districts embrace the idea that driving long-term college and career success following high school graduation is their core mission, capacity to track and effectively use postsecondary data has been slow to develop.
Through our work with K-12 districts and partner organizations all across the country over the past decade, we have had the opportunity to listen to a broad range of practitioners about what would help them use data to improve postsecondary outcomes at scale.
Building Better Outcomes: A District Playbook for Effective Postsecondary Data Practice aims to answer those questions in concrete and actionable ways. The Playbook is organized in three major domains: Data Leadership, Data Infrastructure, and Data Use–with Data Leadership as the essential foundation. This structure reflects an underlying theory of action – that if districts achieve high-quality data practice in all three domains and leverage external partnerships to support that work, then prioritized postsecondary outcomes for students will measurably improve.
The Playbook breaks each major domain into three discrete building blocks. Districts should complete the self-assessment to identify existing strengths and growth areas, then use the results to prioritize specific building blocks for improvement. Each “building block” of the Playbook has the same structure, designed to answer the big questions we heard from practitioners:
? What specific data points should we prioritize if we want to improve postsecondary outcomes for students?
Postsecondary Priority Metrics: Referenced in every building block, the Postsecondary Priority Metrics are specific data points districts should track and create strategies to improve in order to drive better long-term outcomes for students.
? What does “high-quality” postsecondary data practice mean in relation to those outcomes?
Standards: Standards describe the components of “high quality” practice for each building block and offer descriptors to help districts assess their current practice.
? What does it look like when enacted in actual districts and partner organizations?
Examples: Each building block has a featured example, showing how a real district and/or district partner has achieved high-quality practice in its local context. Additional examples offer variety, depth, and detail.
? How can I do it in my district, building on what we already have?
Improvement Steps: Step-by-step actions districts can take to improve data practice in a given building block – with written guidance, editable tools, and additional examples to support and illustrate each step.
Postsecondary Priority Metrics (Landscape) FINAL (1).pdfThe Postsecondary Priority Metrics outline the essential data points districts should track and create strategies to improve if they want to drive better long-term outcomes for students. These metrics promote college and career success, are grounded in research and best practice, and reach beyond “traditional” K-12 metrics like attendance, test scores, and high school graduation.
The Postsecondary Priority Metrics track the student journey to, through, and beyond postsecondary education, capturing critical milestones along the path to workforce success. To ensure coherence and impact, districts are encouraged to prioritize metrics at each stage of the journey: Preparing, Applying, Enrolling, Attaining, and Succeeding.
How to Use the Playbook
Step 1: Assemble a Team
Step 1: Assemble a Team
To effectively use this playbook, the district should form a task force to elevate postsecondary and workforce success as a strategic priority. This task force will pull and analyze data on historical performance, set the district's postsecondary and workforce strategy, organize workgroups to execute priorities, take charge of ongoing implementation, and convene external partners and stakeholders. The task force should use this playbook as a guide to coordinate task force actions, beginning by completing the self-assessment, prioritizing the areas of data practice most in need of improvement, and overseeing the execution of the improvement steps outlined in each section of the playbook.
Internal members of the task force may include the district’s:
Superintendent
Chief Academic Officer
Postsecondary and Workforce Success/College and Career Readiness lead(s) (including CTE)
Data Lead(s)
High School Principal(s)
School-Based Educators and Staff (e.g., school counselors, postsecondary advisors, college and career readiness coordinators)
Once you've assembled your team, it's time to assess your district's current postsecondary data practice. Identify up to 10 team members to complete the self-assessment.
Once your team has completed the self-assessment, meet to discuss your results and align on your priorities. You want to build your way up - start by improving Data Leadership, then Data Infrastructure, and then Data Use.
Step 4: Discover Resources to Support Your Postsecondary Data Practice
Step 4: Discover Resources to Support Your Postsecondary Data Practice
Once your team has determined your district's priorities, navigate to the corresponding section of the Playbook to see exemplar practices from other districts, step-by-step instructions for how to improve practice, and tools and resources to help you along the way.
Building Better Outcomes was developed by Education Strategy Group in consultation with school districts all across the United States. If you have questions about the Playbook or how to apply it in your district, please contact playbook@edstrategy.org. To download the full Playbook, click here.
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