How do we use data visualization to tell stories about education trends?

Challenge

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) collects a vast array of education data used to develop policies and inform programs to support its mission to “promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.”

Westat helps ED analyze these large, complex datasets and present the data in engaging and meaningful ways, often on tight deadlines.

Solution

Our researchers draw on their deep knowledge of education data, including the Civil Rights Data Collection, the Consolidated State Performance Report, and EDFacts, to advise ED staff on the quality of the data and prepare timely, user-friendly analyses of the data.

We help ED staff

• Better understand new federal education data collections and changes to surveys
• Streamline its data analyses by identifying and combining data from multiple sources
• Focus attention on particular education problems and their policy implications by providing engaging data visualizations, including dynamic charts and interactive maps

Results

For examples of our data visualizations, see

• Story map on the Our Nation’s English Learners: What are their characteristics?
• Story map on the Educational Experiences of English Learners
• Story map on the Academic Performance and Outcomes for English Learners
• Story map from Chronic Absenteeism in the Nation’s Schools
• Story map in the Access to Reading Materials
• Map of Corporal Punishment, by school district

We also assembled user-friendly versions of the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) for the 2013-14 School Year data files to broaden the number of users.