A new report says Indiana performed better than any state in the nation when it comes to collecting data to help student performance.

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The annual report from the Data Quality Campaign in Washington, D.C. says the state gained five of the ten state actions that the group says are necessary to provide quality data to parents and teachers.  The group's Executive Director, Aimee Guidera, says Indiana is especially improved at the gathering of what is called "longitudinal" data - data that can track students from kindergarten through 12th grade.

The report says Indiana meets eight of the ten categories the DQC says are necessary to ensure that enough data are being collected and being made available.  Guidera says Indiana does an excellent job of making the data available to parents.

Guidera says school systems and state education departments should provide easy access to not only test scores, but information on attendance, finances and other data that will help everyone who has a stake in education make effective decisions.

The report was critical of Indiana for failing to provide enough information back to colleges of education.  Guideras says those training to be teachers need access to feedback as to what works and what doesn't in the classroom.