RMC Partners with the Texas Education Research Center

The Texas Education Research Center (ERC)is a research center and data clearinghouse created by the Texas legislature in 2006. The RMC was initially a partner with the ERC, housed at the University of Texas at Dallas, but more recently has evolved into a new partnership based at the University of Texas at Austin. The UT-Austin ERC has moved to the RMC. Dr. Celeste Alexander serves as managing Director of the ERC. Its Co-Principal Investigators are Dr. Pedro Reyes, Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at UT System and LBJ School faculty member, and RMC Director, Dr. Chris King.

The nonpartisan ERC is tasked with hosting information from state agencies and providing access to data for scientific inquiry and policy making purposes. It contains a broad range of linked, student- and school-level data including all public education information from P-12 schools from the Texas Education Agency (TEA), information from both public and private higher education institutions through the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), and training program, child care and employment data from the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). The integrated nature of this database allows researchers to follow the trajectory Texas students take from elementary school through postsecondary institutions and into their careers.

Additionally, data from several national datasets are also hosted by the ERC including those from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) and the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES). The ERC warehouse today holds one of the largest and most complete Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems in the country. Currently, in addition to RMC researchers, LBJ School Assistant Professor Jane Lincove and Economics Professor Sandra Black and several of their doctoral students are conducting research using ERC data as part of RMC’s ongoing Texas Workforce Data Quality Initiative. In the near future, other researchers from around the country will be able to apply for access to these data for approved research projects.