The Education Data That Matter Most to Parents and School Stakeholders - Key findings and ESSA accountability metrics

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mia

The brief critiques U.S. K-12 school accountability systems for relying on limited, standardized measures that omit meaningful context about students, communities, and available resources. It summarizes insights from Center for American Progress community conversations with caregivers, educators, administrators, and stakeholders, highlighting demand for timely, actionable data to guide learning support at and beyond school. It also reviews Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requirements and the data types states report, explaining why local leaders need better benchmark information for responsive decisions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

CAP community conversation overview

Who participated and why resources matter

Brief overview of ESSA’s K-12 accountability requirements

Core metrics states must report

Expanded information beyond assessments

The information school communities say they want about students

The Education Data That Matter Most to Parents and School Stakeholders By Jamil Modaffari and Laura Jimenez May 5, 2021 Today’s school accountability systems are the primary tool education leaders use to understand the health of the education system and how well it provides all children an opportunity to learn the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in the 21st century. They accomplish this by measuring and transparently reporting students’ yearly outcomes in academics and other areas. When schools do not meet benchmarks, states require that they take action to improve. However, this system of accountability fails to include meaningful metrics that take into account the context in which students learn, their communities, and the resources made available to them. Most existing school accountability systems do not give leaders—especially those at the local level—a recipe to follow that leads to better outcomes for students. That is, accountability systems are too often designed without critical information about the component parts and the most effective step-by-step process for education stakeholders to follow in order to reach the desired outcome: a quality education for all students. And yet, local school communities, parents, and caregivers are hungry for this information. They want data that can guide their daily actions to support student learning, both in the classroom and beyond school walls. In 2019, the Center for American Progress embarked on a series of community conversations with caregivers, educators, school administrators, and other school stakeholders to learn what information they value and want to know about schools and student learning. This issue brief highlights what CAP gleaned from one round of community conversations. It includes powerful thoughts from participants that illuminate the need for schools to provide timely and useful data to caregivers, educators, and school leaders to improve the quality of education each child receives. CAP community conversation overview CAP initiated a series of education-focused conversations centering the voices of Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color across the country. Many of these communities have been systemically deprived of resources, resulting in 1 Center for American Progress | The Education Data That Matter Most to Parents and School Stakeholders their students receiving less of an opportunity to learn at high levels. Their schools receive less funding, are taught by less experienced teachers, and have less access to rigorous and high-quality instructional materials and practices.1 This issue brief focuses on a series of conversations with caregivers, educators, and other school stakeholders centered on school accountability and what types of data are made available to community members to ensure that schools are preparing all students for college, career, and civic life. By hosting video calls with school communities in three parts of the country, CAP learned how they use data from accountability systems and what information they want to better support student learning and improve student outcomes. More details about the community conversations can be found in the appendix. Brief overview of ESSA’s K-12 accountability requirements Each year, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires states to report how all students and different subgroups of students performed on standardized assessments and a series of additional metrics. The data that states report are necessary and useful for policymakers to target supports and additional investments to schools that need them. However, this design is insufficient to make real-or near-time decisions for students, does not offer any context for the conditions in which students are learning, and restricts determinations about school quality to these limited factors. ESSA requires states to report how all students and subgroups of students performed in the following areas: • Perce

FAQs

Why does the brief say current accountability systems fall short?

It argues that most systems use limited metrics that do not reflect the context in which students learn, the conditions of their communities, or the resources available. Without this, stakeholders lack guidance for step-by-step actions that improve outcomes.

What does ESSA require states to report about K-12 performance?

ESSA requires reporting performance of all students and subgroups on standardized reading and math assessments, four-year graduation rates, individual student growth, English learner progress, and at least one additional measure such as attendance.

What additional data does the brief note ESSA requires states to collect and report?

It highlights broader information including access to advanced classes, college enrollment rates, discipline rates, chronic absenteeism, per-pupil spending, and educators’ professional qualifications.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mia