From Compliance to Learning: A System for Harnessing the Power of Data in the State of Maryland

In the digital age, information is power. When information is effectively harnessed and aligned with student

learning, it carries the potential to radically transform the delivery of education, as well as the sector as a whole.

Increasingly, education systems are moving away from using education data narrowly for compliance purposes,

and instead are embracing data as a tool to drive system-wide innovation, professionalization, and most

importantly, learning. Whether to prioritize and optimize data and information systems around student leaming is

no longer an option, but an imperative for education systems that aim to excel and achieve strong learning

outcomes.

Over the last several decades, fundamental shifts have occurred in the way that education data is collected,

managed and used. Today real-time learning data informs classroom instruction; predictive analytics identify atrisk

youth before they drop out of school; and data from preschool to workforce (also referred to as P-20W) are

linked to help guide education reforms. These represent just a few of the innovative ways that schools and other

stakeholders across the United States are hamessing data to improve education.

This study builds on a 2015 World Bank report that assessed education management information systems

(EMIS) in the State of Maryland. That report uncovered a successful system and this one expands on lessons

learned and ways to apply them in practice. The goal of this study is to distill Maryland's good practices in

education data systems, and share them in a way that is useful to education stakeholders interested in

harnessing the power of data to strengthen learning outcomes. This study also examines the history of education

data collection and use in the United States with a focus on the State of Maryland, including a review of federal

and state legislation that has helped to shape Maryland's education data policies and systems.