Navigating the Policy Landscape: How to Conduct Effective 50-State Scans

Introduction: Why 50-State Scans Matter

At their best, 50-state policy scans serve as powerful tools for discovery, comparison, and strategy. They help education leaders identify trends, spot gaps, and inform decisions that shape the future. But all too often, scans are treated as quick exercises, a check-the-box attempt to justify a pre-existing idea rather than to challenge or refine it.

True data-informed decision-making requires more than one dataset or flashy example. It requires plural data, analyzed thoughtfully and systemically. Unfortunately, state leaders sometimes seek a single finding to back up a belief they already hold. They might ask for a scan to support a hunch, not to test it. But that approach misses the real power of these projects.

A 50-state scan is not just about identifying what’s out there; it’s about doing so with curiosity, clarity, and caution. And doing it well requires careful design, subject-matter expertise, and a willingness to engage in the tedious but rewarding work of policy research.

Step 1. Start with the Right Questions

Before opening a single browser tab or Excel spreadsheet, the most important thing you can do is define your question.

The way a research question is framed will shape every subsequent decision. A scan looking at “teacher leadership programs” might yield a very different set of results than one focused on “formal teacher career pathways” or “shared instructional leadership roles.” Seemingly minor word choices can have enormous implications.

This is also the moment to ask: Do you really need all 50 states? Sometimes, a regional scan or a scan of peer states may offer more actionable insight, especially in the early stages of innovation. Ask:

• What is the goal of this scan?

• Who will use the results, and how?

• Are there natural comparison groups that make more sense than a full national sweep?

Effective scans begin with specificity and purpose. The best ones resist the urge to be overly broad.

Common Mistake #1: Starting too broad or too narrow. Without a clearly defined question, the scan risks becoming either superficial or irrelevant.

Step 2. Understanding the Reality Behind the Data

When you begin collecting information from state websites, legislation, and official policy documents, it’s tempting to take what you find at face value. There are good reasons you should resist doing this.

Policy language and regulations often contain deliberate grey areas, crafted through compromise, ambiguity, or design. Unless you were in the room when that language was developed, it’s hard to know the full intent.

One of the most common missteps is latching onto an interesting example from a single state and assuming it’s both fully understood and easily transferable. What looks bold or innovative might be misleading without context.

Common Mistake #2: Over-interpreting a single example. Every policy is the result of local decisions, systems, and stakeholders. Rarely can an idea be picked up wholesale and moved elsewhere.

Step 3. Designing a Rigorous, Systematic Collection Process

Now the real work begins. A strong scan isn’t just a list of links or a column of yes/no checkboxes; it’s a structured, transparent process.

You’ll need to:

• Create a clear tracking tool (Excel, Google Sheets, Airtable, or other database software).

• Establish precise categories and definitions. What exactly are you hoping to compare across states?

• Record sources meticulously, including publication dates and context.

• Document unknowns and grey areas, while noting areas for future exploration.

This kind of deep, detailed work is both a skill and a mindset. I’ve conducted 50-state scans on topics including educator evaluations, teacher licensure, child care stabilization funds, and professional development systems. Each one required the same mindset: systematic attention to detail, a commitment to verifying sources, and a willingness to revise as the scope shifted.

Common Mistake #3: Rushing through the process. If a scan feels quick or easy, it’s probably incomplete.

Step 4. Knowing Where (and How) to Look

Not all information lives in the same place across states. A professional development requirement might live with the teacher licensing board in one state, and the state department of education in another. Child care initiatives might fall under a health agency or an early learning commission.

Knowing where, and how, to look is essential. It’s also where subject matter expertise becomes a differentiator. Terms vary, agency responsibilities shift, and data may be archived, decentralized, or labeled inconsistently.

Common Mistake #4: Assuming consistency in organization or terminology. States differ, and your search strategy must adapt accordingly.

Step 5. Making Meaning from the Findings

Once the data is collected, it’s time to analyze. This phase should be just as structured as the collection process. Patterns should be drawn from evidence, not impressions. Consider:

• What trends are emerging?

• Are any new models gaining traction?

• How do different states implement similar policies?

• Where are the use cases or cautionary tales?

It’s also important to think about timing and context. A policy passed in 2015 may have evolved or been repealed. Look for evaluation reports or implementation updates where possible.

Typically, you want the expertise of a qualitative researcher to conduct this type of analysis, as it requires identifying trends over multiple sources, revising coding schemes to account for unexpected findings, and synthesizing results in a narrative-friendly format. A good qualitative researcher brings rigor to data collection and analysis.

Common Mistake #5: Rushing to draw conclusions. Good scans reveal questions just as much as they deliver answers.

Step 6. From Scan to Strategy: Building Partnerships and Capacity

A well-executed scan does more than produce a deliverable, it opens the door to future collaboration.

Use what you’ve learned to:

• Identify states who might offer peer advice.

• Build relationships with agencies that have faced similar challenges.

• Adjust preliminary thinking about an idea, to account for experiences elsewhere.

• Position your own agency as a thoughtful partner, not just a consumer of ideas.

Sometimes, these relationships are as valuable as the scan itself.

Common Mistake #5: Treating the scan as a static report. Instead, consider it a living tool for learning and strategy.

Final Takeaways

A strong 50-state scan is equal parts precision, persistence, and perspective. It’s not glamorous work, but when done right, it’s transformative.

• Start with the right question, then test your assumptions.

• Don’t be seduced by the most interesting idea, be guided by the most useful ones.

• Recognize that all innovation is incremental, and our best ideas are often refinements of what came before.

If you're launching a new initiative, shaping a policy recommendation, or simply trying to understand the national landscape, don’t go it alone. Partner with someone who knows where to look and what to do with what they find.

I am not ashamed to say that I delight in the minutia of 50-state scans. There is something incredibly rewarding about finding nuggets of information hidden deep on state websites, and it is even better to help shape an agency’s thinking by reviewing what has happened in different jurisdictions. If you have upcoming projects that would be supported by a thorough review of an innovation landscape, let’s talk.

All innovation is incremental. Knowing what’s come before is the foundation of doing it better.