For the third year in a row now, Maryland’s Public Schools have been ranked #1 in the country. Our kids are doing the best they ever have on the MSA Reading tests, our high school students lead the nation with their Advanced Placement scores and working together, over the past couple of years, we’ve been able to cut the achievement gap between black and white students by nearly half.
But even though our schools are the best in the nation, Governor O’Malley knows that we can do more. He understands that education is the key to winning the future and will not rest until every child in Maryland receives a world class education.
Governor O’Malley also understands the importance and effectiveness of using data to guide decision making. In 2010, working with a broad coalition of state policymakers, Governor O’Malley led the effort to create the Maryland Longitudinal Data System Center—an efficient system that tracks student progress and helps identify ways to improve student performance and academic achievement while at the same time protecting privacy.
For his leadership in this area, Governor O’Malley was recently named the 2010 Policy Maker of the year by the Data Quality Counts Campaign.
In recognizing Governor O’Malley they noted, “Each year, the Data Quality Campaign’s Recognition Program highlights the critical role of leadership in changing the culture around data use for continuous improvement. The 2010 winners exemplify how innovation and dedication can transform education into a data-driven enterprise. The State Policymaker plays a key part in ensuring that data systems are not solely designed for compliance or accountability, but to answer vital policy questions that are critical to improving student success.”
Watch this video to learn more about Governor O’Malley’s philosophy on using data to make government more efficient and accountable.
