Breaking Down Barriers: Implementing the Evidence Act for Education and Workforce Data

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Executive Summary

The Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Evidence Act) established a framework for transforming how federal agencies collect, share, and use data. This transformation of how federal agencies leverage data will be particularly crucial for education and workforce development in the years ahead, where understanding program effectiveness increasingly requires connecting information across multiple agencies, jurisdictions, time periods, and contexts. However, more than six years into implementation of the Evidence Act, significant barriers continue to impede progress toward the law’s vision of integrated, accessible, secure data systems that support evidence-informed policymaking at the federal and state levels of government that serve the public interest while balancing strong privacy safeguards. In this report, with the support of expert stakeholder input, the Data Foundation identifies five challenge areas hindering Evidence Act implementation in education and workforce contexts, specifically for connecting systems and integrating data to support key questions across these sectors to improve outcomes for students and workers. The challenge areas include:

1. Data Standards and Technical Alignment: Inconsistent definitions and incompatible systems across federal agencies prevent efficient data sharing with state and local governments, educational institutions, workforce boards, researchers, and other organizations that rely on federal data for decision-making and program evaluation.
2. Organizational Silos and Institutional Barriers: Agencies lack structured mechanisms for sustained cross-sector, intra-governmental, and inter-governmental collaboration, resulting in duplicative efforts and missed opportunities for learning across programs.
3. Resource and Capacity Constraints: Limited consideration for applying resources strategically and appropriate technical expertise frequently prevents agencies from modernizing data infrastructure and maintaining robust analytical support.
4. Data Access Barriers: Complex approval processes and unclear data availability limit stakeholders’ ability to access and use relevant datasets for decision-making.
5. Privacy Protections: Risk-averse interpretations of privacy laws can result in restrictive data sharing practices that may hinder evidence building.

To address these challenges, the Data Foundation offers targeted recommendations for federal action, including:

• Directing Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) at OMB to lead development of government-wide data standards for key workforce and education metrics, with initial focus on core concepts used across multiple agencies;
• Re-establishing an Evidence Act Advisory Committee to create standardized data sharing agreements and legal interpretations across education and workforce agencies;
• Establishing a cross-agency Education and Workforce Data Alignment Initiative led by federal Chief Data Officers (CDOs) to develop standardized definitions;
• Investing in State Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) and Workforce Data Quality Initiative (WDQI) grant programs to maximize returns on existing investments while reducing redundancies in state data infrastructure for education and workforce evidence building;
• Developing a national data capacity strategy through OMB and state CDOs that establishes minimum federal standards while preserving state flexibility;
• Prioritizing privacy-protected data access in agency quadrennial strategic plans to enable research that improves student and worker outcomes;
• Sustaining and expanding both scope and visibility of the Standard Application Process (SAP) through the Chief Statistician;
• Issuing targeted OMB regulations on implementing the Evidence Act’s presumption of accessibility for high-value education and workforce datasets; and
• Developing an OMB risk-based framework for education and workforce data sharing that balances ‘open by default’ guidance with privacy protections.

These recommendations work together as an integrated framework for advancing the Evidence Act’s vision specifically for student and worker data. Success requires sustained commitment from federal agencies, partnership with states, and engagement with a range of stakeholders in other sectors. While successful implementation of the Evidence Act and its goals demands significant effort, the cost of inaction is substantial: without better data integration, education and workforce programs won’t have the data needed to build evidence to support policy decisions. That means those programs will continue operating without the evidence needed to improve outcomes for American students and workers. In the years ahead, Congress, the White House, states, and leaders from the public 
and private sectors can work together to build such a data system that generates sound evidence to support economic prosperity. By addressing these interconnected challenges through coordinated action, federal agencies can transform America’s education and workforce data systems from fragmented pieces into an integrated ecosystem that drives better outcomes through evidence-informed decision-making.

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