A new study from the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) found that most states are not being transparent about the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on K-12 students.
The study graded the report card websites of all 50 states and the District of Columbia on an A-F scale, based on how easy it would be for a parent or advocate to find longitudinal data on performance going back to pre-COVID times. Researchers found that most states are failing to provide accessible, transparent longitudinal performance data, despite this being a key area of interest for parents, education advocates, and the general public.
The report is part of CRPE’s broader State of the Student Report project, which provides an annual update on the state of public education and COVID-19 recovery efforts. It covers what students and families need, how school systems are responding, what barriers they face, and promising innovations for the public education system.
For the latest report, only seven states earned an A for data transparency from researchers: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Michigan, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. Nine states – Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Washington – received B grade. The majority of states and D.C. received a grade of C or worse for their efforts to provide accessible, transparent school performance data going back to pre-COVID times.
In terms of what data is missing, researchers found that states aren’t transparently reporting social studies test scores, achievement growth, and chronic absenteeism data. On the positive side, graduation rates and ELA/mathematics performance levels are widely available.
In terms of recommendations, CRPE said states need to:
- Collaborate across states: States should work together to create unified, user-friendly report card models that can provide consistent and transparent data.
- Enhance usability: Conduct more thorough user experience testing to simplify data presentation and navigation, taking cues from states with high usability ratings.
- Increase transparency: Ensure data is clear and accessible, particularly post-COVID school performance, with potential federal support to standardize transparency efforts.
