Data Assets in Early Education and Development

This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the early childhood education (ECE) data assets landscape. The authors focus on three primary areas: (a) administrative data assets in ECE, (b) federal data assets in ECE, and (c) auxiliary data assets in ECE. Within each of these categories, they provide an overview both of the current data landscape and of the ways the data assets have been used to promote more effective ECE programs and practices. After detailing the ECE data asset landscape, the authors transition to reviewing research on how data assets can be leveraged at the practice level in the classroom. Last, they explore innovations in data science that are opening the door to new ways of exploring ECE data assets to inform decision making. Embedded throughout these sections are ways that data assets in ECE can be leveraged to advance educational equity.

Keywords: early childhood education; data; pre-K; data sources; early education