U.S. ‘Dashboards’ Offer Data on State Achievement

More than 20 years ago, when federal officials sought to publicize data portraying the relative quality of the states’ school systems, the best statistics they could find were scores on college-admissions tests and state-reported graduation rates.

Now that states have results from their own tests and state-level results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress—as well as a wealth of other data—the Department of Education is publishing a two-page report on each state that gives a glimpse of the quality of its K-12 schools.

The reports also should answer the public’s questions about the success of the No Child Left Behind Act in promoting increased student achievement, said Secretary...