The business community has long been an advocate for using data to drive decision making. We see the benefits of this approach throughout our lives: for example, healthcare leaders like the Cleveland Clinic use data analytics to identify patients that are most likely to recover at home after surgeries.
Using data to inform decision-making in education should be no different, yet we do not harness the data we collect on student and school performance in the same way we do in other sectors. One of the core premises of the education reform movement is that improved data on student outcomes will lead to increased support for the students who need it most, and states now administer annual spring assessments to gauge whether students are meeting state standards. When used wisely, this data can help policymakers make decisions on education spending, help teachers develop an accurate picture of their students’ progress, and help parents understand whether their child needs additional academic support.
Unfortunately, most states release their assessment results months after the exams take place, when the data is outdated and many opportunities to support student learning have passed.
Our colleague Chad Aldeman’s reporting shows that in 2023, only five states released their assessment results in June or July, and another 14 released their results in August, when most states go back to school. As Aldeman writes, there are several causes for delays: more open-response test questions, concerns of accuracy, and checkpoints for external reviews by districts. But private-sector assessments like ACT and SAT also include written response questions and require high accuracy due to their high stakes for college admissions, and the makers of these exams are still able to return results to students in two weeks.
When states are slow to release test scores, it not only implies that these data are unimportant, but it has real implications for parents and educators. According to Gallup and Learning Heroes’ research on parent perceptions, nine in 10 parents believe their child is performing at or above grade level in reading and math. Yet, results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) report well under half of students are performing at grade level. Statewide assessments can deliver a more accurate picture of how their student is learning and indicate to parents that their child may need additional support, but when parents receive these results in August or September, they miss the opportunity to enroll their child in summer learning opportunities to help them catch up.
Further, end-of-year assessment results can and should tell teachers and school leaders how prepared their students are for the next year’s academic content. If results are delivered after the next school year has begun, teachers cannot tailor their classroom practices and lesson plans, and school leaders cannot change classroom assignments or set clear building-wide goals.
There are some clues that states recognize the importance of delivering clear, timely information on student achievement to families, educators, and the community. This year, the Texas Education Agency was first to release its results and posted them directly to school districts’ family academic portals, streamlining how parents can view results with plenty of time to enroll in summer learning. Other states like Montana are piloting through-year assessments, shifting statewide assessment away from one summative test to multiple brief checks throughout the year and providing real-time feedback to educators and parents. States could also take legislative action to speed up the delivery of test scores. Ohio, for example, set a deadline of June 30 for delivering assessment results to parents.
Alternatively, as Chad Aldeman wrote in his winning submission in our Future of Data Design Challenge, Congress could step in to ensure timely delivery. Federal law currently states that test results are released “as soon as is practicable after the assessment is given”; Congress could amend this rule to require states to send preliminary results to parents and educators within two weeks of the test’s administration.
The demand for skilled workers is greater than ever, and we must prioritize improvements to the K-12 education system to ensure it graduates all students with the necessary skills, academic and other, that they need to succeed in work and life. State assessments provide crucial insights for students, parents, educators, policymakers, and communities, driving targeted improvements in education — it's time we value them as such and deliver results on time.
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About the authors
Kyle Butler
Kyle Butler is senior manager of K-12 education programs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
