The Common Metrics Project (CMP)


The Common Metrics Project (CMP) is a result of ECEP’s 10+ years of work in systems change efforts that are designed to build equitable pathways in K-16 computer science education.

The objective of the CMP is to facilitate the collaborative development of a common framework for monitoring progress in K-16 computer science (CS) education and advocacy with an emphasis on broadening participation in computing (BPC). This project engages state teams in data gathering, data analysis, data reporting, and data utilization that leads to an increase in evidence-based BPC advocacy, policy development, and implementation.

Project goals are to:

Establish a common agenda across multiple states, including shared definitions to guide the selection of metrics.

Develop shared measurement systems, built on a deeper understanding of member state data systems and common practices for measuring BPC efforts.

Develop and share tools to more quickly and accurately analyze and disseminate data that informs BPC work.

Engage in collaborative data discovery with regard to BPC and K-16 CS education change efforts.

About CMP

The Common Metrics Project was developed to elevate the role of data in systems change work and to prioritize the democratization of data, ensuring that CSEd advocates at all levels from K-12 to government can advance equitable computer science education pathways. By developing common definitions, collecting relevant data, agreeing on a common system to analyze the data and ultimately sharing the data via dashboards and other data visualizations provides state teams with the evidence they need to inform advocacy, policy development and practices that lead change efforts.

With this project, ECEP wants to inspire states to utilize data to understand their contextual needs, tell their own state story about the importance of broadening participation in computing, and advance local and national K-12 CS education goals.

Have questions about the CMP project, states, and more? Email Sarah Dunton.

Project Testimonials

Research and Presentations

Determining metrics for broadening participation in computing: Connecting data to multi-state computer science education policy efforts

Facilitating the development of a common framework for monitoring progress in K-12 computer science (CS) education and advocacy with an emphasis on broadening participation is the key to constructing strong CS education policy. Based on a project that brought together leadership teams from six states, a framework for measuring broadening participation in computing (BPC) and setting the foundation for national scaling was developed.

Learn more >>