Transparent Data
Holding all schools to the same high expectations and delivering on the promise to families through clear, accessible data.
Why it matters
By making school data transparent and provided with the aligned support to reach the same high standards, educators and systems leaders can change their instructional policies and practices in meaningful ways, leading to improved student achievement
Using both quantitative and qualitative data to guide decision making can be a critical tool to enhance student success and promote equitable outcomes by supporting informed actions from educators, leaders, and families.
Putting it into practice
We are a trusted source of information, making data on schools accessible to families.
Minneapolis School Finder
Great MN Schools worked alongside community partners, schools, and over 500 families to develop a shared school performance rating. This provides a meaningful, comparable, and understandable definition of school performance across a variety of measures including; academic proficiency and progress, culture and climate, diversity, and discipline to support informed educators, leaders and families.
The Minneapolis School Finder puts all of this information in one place to create a resource guide and directory for Minneapolis families to find their best-fit school.
71%
of sampled families switched to a better school after receiving the Minneapolis School Finder
Minnesota Standards Family Guides
The Minnesota Department of Education decides what every child will—and should—learn in school in all subjects. The MN Standards Family Guides are intended to help families understand those standards in English Language Arts and math.
We’ve created these guides as a tool for families and parents to have an easy-to-access understanding of state learning standards and grade-level expectations. Our goal: Build a bridge for families. These guides lay out what our state and our schools expect kids to know and be able to do each year.
These guides are currently available for grades PK-8 and in five languages (English, Hmong, Spanish, Somali, and Karen).
96%
of families took action to more deeply engage in their child’s education after reviewing Great MN Schools’ resources
Featured Strategic Partners
We connect schools with support to help them collect, analyze, and use data to improve student outcomes.
Achievement Network (ANet)
ANet works alongside school leadership teams to strengthen their school-wide practice and culture of using learning standards, achievement data, and analysis of student work to get breakthrough results for students.
TNTP Instructional Culture Insight Surveys
The Instructional Culture Insight Surveys collect feedback on a range of topics, including academics, talent, and operations. TNTP compare the results to highly effective schools across the country to uncover opportunities to build on strengths and prioritize areas for improvement.
Case Study: Global Academy
In Global Academy’s second year of their Good-to-Great success plan, the leadership team deepened their partnership with ANet in order to redefine how teachers use student data to improve their instruction.
After implementing daily and interim assessments and the teaching and learning cycle, (teach, assess, evaluate, re-teach) Global Academy was able to address student knowledge and skill gaps more effectively. This work led to higher student engagement and achievement.
In a national school comparison model built by City Fund and Bloomberg Philanthropies, students at Global Academy strongly outperformed expectations. Against similar schools across Minnesota, Global Academy performed 27 percentage points higher in math and reading proficiency.
94%
of teachers agree that Global is committed to improving their instruction*
*2023 TNTP Insight Survey
A survey administered to families and teachers annually to provide formative data for school improvement.
Research & Proof Points
- ‘School Performance Frameworks: Lessons, Cases, and Purposeful Design,’ Bellwether Education Partners (Bellwether Education Partners: School Performance Frameworks)
- Sample frameworks from Chicago and Washington, D.C.
- ‘The case for an accurate picture: Parent mindsets on education,’ Learning Heroes
Latina immigrant mother of three
Get Involved
Help us keep data in the hands of families and educators!