The Data Quality Campaign,a national organization that encourages state policymakers to increase the availability and use of high-quality education data to improve student achievement, has awarded Governor Martin O’Malley with its State Policymaker award. The award is given annually to State policymakers who play a pivotal role in supporting the development of longitudinal data systems.  The organization’s website states:

In the spring of 2010, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley worked collaboratively with the state legislature, the Maryland State Department of Education, and the University System of Maryland to develop a bill that would create the Maryland Longitudinal Data System Center. The Governor’s vision was that the Center would help stakeholders determine how students are performing and whether they are graduating college and career ready.  To achieve this goal, the Center was established jointly by the State Department of Education, the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation, the Maryland Higher Education Commission, the University System of Maryland, Morgan State University, and St. Mary’s College of Maryland.  Using data that spans from early childhood through K-12 education to postsecondary education and the workforce will help ensure that Maryland’s students graduate prepared to succeed in college and today’s knowledge-based economy.

“It has long been a guiding principle of the O’Malley-Brown Administration that the things that get measured are the things that get done,” said Governor O’Malley.  “We owe it to our students, parents, teachers and administrators to uphold the highest standards of accountability and transparency, and that starts with establishing quality education data systems to ensure Maryland students graduate high school prepared for college and highly-skilled careers.  The Center will provide the data necessary for every student to recognize with their families and teachers what is working and where intervention is needed to stay on the path to graduation.”