It's a way to measure progress toward building and strengthening a culture of learning and improvement.
As community-based organizations struggle financially, they are experiencing staff turnover that hampers their crucial work.
A large-scale rollout not only would significantly improve air quality but also holds the promise of good new jobs for the disadvantaged.
Too often, it's uncharted territory. But the time to prepare is before a community is overwhelmed.
We can't have effective policymaking without comprehensive data. By mandating standardized data collection across the state, Florida is leading the way.
When revenues can't cover essential services, public officials would do well to engage residents in a dialogue about what's important to them.
Identifying them and their needs is the first step to serving them better and reducing wasted effort.
There's a lot of room for improvement in the way we do standardized tests. Some states are experimenting with innovative approaches.
Rather than treating them as the enemy, cities should collaborate with them.
China has disrupted our once-thriving recycling programs. Cities and counties should be investing in the recycling industry, not incinerators.
Building on decades of experience, public leaders are finding new ways to tap the power of this powerful, evolving form of data-driven management.
A cost-benefit model is the best route to creating fiscally prudent incentive packages.
These institutions offer statewide resources that municipal leaders should take more advantage of.
Faced with teacher strikes, many districts are making commitments they can't afford. It may be time to establish state-level GAOs to rein them in.
They have a lot going for them, but they need the kind of infrastructure investment that partnering with financial institutions can provide.
Transportation and land-use agencies often don't work with the same data as economic development offices. A new tool aims to bridge that gap.
Cities and states have the tools to help shape a future that is both clean and equitable.
West Virginia's experience offers lessons in what states can do to provide retirement systems that benefit educators and taxpayers alike.
Suspending delinquent borrowers' occupational licenses just makes it harder for them to repay their loans. Thankfully, states are moving to abandon the practice.
The common wisdom is that their typically low turnout means they don't reflect the views of the wider electorate. But as a look at recall votes shows, that's not necessarily so.
We need to reimagine them and invest in them as platforms for health, equity and neighborhood wellbeing.
Too often, college and university governing boards resist bringing students and the public into decisions that have a powerful impact on them.
Someday Congress may mandate it, but there's nothing to keep states from moving on their own.
Regional partnerships are a way to help low-income families gain the advantages of resource-rich areas. There's new support from Washington.
Requiring two-person crews raises railroads' costs unnecessarily and discourages investment in technologies that could make shipping safer.
Building on the federal Child Tax Credit would yield dramatic results.
More and more cities are coming to understand that the key to developing their economies is the job-creation assets they already have.
Promising initiatives around the country show what can be done in struggling neighborhoods.
Expansion of pre-K is welcome, but it shouldn't come at the expense of the needs of infants and toddlers.
A California court decision could harm not just businesses but also workers and consumers. And the misguided idea shows signs of spreading to other states.
Over-reliance on fines and fees is a big part of the problem, but there are a lot of steps that cities can take.