A Toolkit for Schools to Inventory Data Assets and Inform Better Decisions
Welcome
School districts collect a vast array of data that span various departments, including information about students, staff, parents, and facilities. These data encompass a wide range of topics—such as academics, health, engagement, and finances—and offer significant opportunities for districts to gain insight and improve.
However, many districts face challenges in managing their data effectively. Data collection often occurs in silos, making it difficult to coordinate and connect data sources. As a result, districts may struggle to fully utilize the wealth of information they gather, limiting their ability to make informed, data-driven decisions.
This toolkit is designed to help school districts and their leaders develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive data inventory. Through this toolkit, we hope you gain the skills and strategies needed to do the following:
- Organize your data assets: Understand what data you have, where they are stored, and how they are used.
- Improve data management: Identify and address inconsistencies, gaps, and inefficiencies in your data.
- Empower decision making: Leverage your data inventory to support strategic planning, resource allocation, and program evaluation.
This toolkit guides you through every stage of the data mapping process, from understanding what a data inventory is and why it matters to maintaining it as an ongoing resource. You will also explore how to use a data inventory to enhance data quality, streamline operations, and make strategic decisions.
What is data mapping?
We define data mapping as the process of creating a data inventory, which is a systematic and comprehensive catalog of an organization's data assets. The data inventory gives a clear overview of the data an organization has and shows what data are collected, where they are kept, how they are used, and who can access the data.
What is the purpose of a data inventory?
A well-maintained data inventory is a foundation for broader goals like data-driven decision making, resource optimization, and compliance reporting. While a data inventory has value in and of itself (i.e., organizing data), its ultimate value lies in informing decisions, ensuring compliance, and tracking outcomes. The benefits of an up-to-date inventory include:
Benefits of a Data Inventory
Having an inventory reduces the risk of duplicated, conflicting, or incomplete data sources, ensuring more reliable reporting and analysis.
An inventory improves the consistency of data collection and helps identify gaps that need to be addressed, ensuring that decisions are based on up-to-date, accurate information.
A well-organized data inventory makes it easier to meet reporting requirements for federal and state mandates, which saves time and reduces stress during audits or accountability reviews.
With easy access to comprehensive data, organizations can make data-driven decisions around resource allocation, staffing, interventions, and program funding.
How to use this toolkit
This toolkit is designed to be a practical resource for school district leaders, data teams, and other stakeholders seeking to maximize the impact of their data. It’s organized for you into four key sections:
- Implementation (Tab 2) introduces the components of an inventory and outlines steps to getting started.
- Maintenance (Tab 3) describes necessary steps to keeping an inventory up-to-date and includes action planning to support maintenance activities.
- Organization (Tab 4) discusses steps for using the inventory to arrange and systematize data sources for easier access and use.
- Strategy (Tab 5) describes steps for using the inventory to drive and inform planning and strategy for school improvement.
Click to continue to Implementation
View ImplementationSuggested citation: Gabriel, A., Angeles-Figueroa, J., Guros, C., Scott, A., & Holquist, S.E. (2025). A toolkit for mapping and leveraging data to drive school success. Child Trends. DOI: 10.56417/48h1187o