AASA Statement on the Data Quality Campaign Report

Daniel A. Domenech, the executive director of AASA, The School Superintendents Association, issued the following statement upon the release of “Paving the Pathway to Success: Data for Action 2014,” a report issued by the Data Quality Campaign.

“AASA applauds the work of the Data Quality Campaign for providing helpful information about how states are implementing data to ensure college and career readiness for our nation’s students. Timely and accurate data-driven analysis is critical in education today to realize where we are and where we need to be. In the digital world we live in, data resources are more important now than ever before. This report exemplifies why data is an essential element in our toolbox.

“Parents, policymakers and the media need to understand the importance of data. We know that data alone is not enough to do our jobs as educators. However, in order to broaden the conversation and come up with the solutions necessary to make key policy decisions, data is a critical resource in driving forward our mission to ensure a quality education for every child.

“A key component of our mission at AASA is to help superintendents advocate for their districts, employees and the students they serve. Advocacy can be a simple conversation with a colleague, a town hall meeting in a community or a discussion with an elected official on Capitol Hill. These meetings would be of little use without accurate data.

“We’re talking about decisions that have a direct impact on the lives of our children. Accurate data is a must-have in order to reach these outcomes. With that, I commend Aimee Rogstad Guidera and the staff at DQC for producing this report.”

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Read AASA President David Pennington’s recent blog post “Balancing Data Transparency and Reporting with Burden and Redundancy.” Pennington is the superintendent of Ponca City Schools in Ponca City, Okla.

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About AASA
AASA, The School Superintendents Association, founded in 1865, is the professional organization for more than 13,000 educational leaders in the United States and throughout the world. AASA’s mission is to support and develop effective school system leaders who are dedicated to the highest quality public education for all children. For more information, visit www.aasa.org.