The Every Student Succeeds Act requires your school district and state to release a school report card every year. The report cards include important information about school environment, demographics and performance on the state, local and school level. Although the reports need to be accessible to every parent, the information doesn’t always speak for itself. Getting familiar with this information can help you turn these reports into results for your child’s school.
It’s PTA’s mission to ensure that parents and families are meaningfully supported and engaged in their children’s education. Here’s a look at some resources to help you understand and act on school report cards.
Why Does Education Data Matter?
To understand your child’s educational experience, you need to know more than just their test scores. By exploring information about your school, you can gain a deeper understanding of their day-to-day life at school and also have specific insights into what you want to change. Here are some resources to help you understand why education data matters to you:
Finding the Information
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) puts a special emphasis on making sure parents are empowered to engage in their children’s education. One way the law makes that happen is by making education data accessible to all parents and families through school, district and state report cards. Here are some resources to help you find important sources of education data such as ESSA report cards.
- Click your state on our interactive map to find links to ESSA report cards
Interpreting What You Find
These report cards include information that reveal some important details about your child’s school. The information available includes deep insights that go far beyond test scores. However, to find the most interesting information you may need to take a closer look. Here are some resources to help you understand and interpret education data:
From Information to Improvements
When you have numbers and data, you have access to a critical tool to help you improve schools. School report cards give us a framework that can shape the conversation on education equity, while also giving parents information they need to make important decisions for their children. Here are some resources to help you advocate for more transparent, accessible, and understandable education data.