New K-12 Education Database

The Laura and John Arnold Foundation have launched the Education Resource Information Navigator (ERIN) Project, an education database that is free and open to the public.

The database is designed to analyze and provide information about the U.S. education system through five areas: policy, research, organizations, funders and technology. Users can search within these categories and narrow their queries further with 13 topics within each of the five areas: charter schools, school choice, school funding, curriculum and programs, instruction, assessment, student and parent support, technology in schools, leadership, teachers, governance, data and running effective schools. Creators of the database hope that educators, nonprofit funders, involved members of the public and those influential in determining district and state education policies will use the database to better inform their work.

"The ERIN Project assembled a leading group of scholars to survey the research on the most pressing and sometimes controversial issues in education policy. The result is an invaluable tool for policy makers, researchers, and the general public," commented Jay P. Greene, one of the experts who helped create the database, in the press release. "The ERIN Project doesn't claim to offer the definitive answer on what works in education, but it provides easy access to resources so that people can make their own reasoned judgments based on the best information available."

To access the database, click here. The ERIN Project invites suggestions and input; the website asks that comments, feedback or inquiries about the project be directed to the data team.