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The K–12 broadening participation in computing (BPC) effort re- quires access to comprehensive state and national K–12 data from which stronger strategies for systems change can be developed. The Expanding Computing Education Pathways (ECEP) Alliance Com- mon Metrics Project (CMP) engages state teams that include state and local education agencies, researchers, and other BPC advocates addressing K–12 computer science (CS) inequities in access and participation at the systems level. The CMP promotes collaboration and knowledge sharing, with teams reporting how CMP enhances BPC policy, pathways, and practices to improve student access and participation in computing. This experience report shares how the CMP advances data as a key tool for driving BPC strategies in state advocacy and policy efforts. 

State computing education policy advocates utilize legal language to build systemic change for broadening participation in computing (BPC) efforts. This study posits that state education policymaking, involving law and regulations that influence the norms and practices in K-12 classrooms, requires identifying authority structures and systems, which are accountable for delivering equitable computing education. Of the 29 states and Puerto Rico in the Expanding Computing Education Pathways (ECEP) Alliance, 14 states have computing education laws, and 9 states have mandated reports. Recommendations for how states can refine existing policies or create new equity centered state computing education policies are provided. 

Collective impact is an approach for solving complex social problems at scale. The challenge of broadening participation in computing (BPC) is one such problem. The complexity of BPC is compounded by the decentralized nature of public education, where decisions are made primarily at the state level and subject to interpretation at the district level. As such, diversifying computer science (CS) pathways across the nation requires a systemic approach such as collective impact to engage all of the stakeholders who influence CS education and whose decisions can either facilitate or hinder BPC efforts. This experience report discusses how the collective impact framework has been used to advance the work of the Expanding Computing Education Pathways (ECEP) Alliance, an NSF funded BPC Alliance focused on states and state policy as the unit of change. We discuss how the five essential features of collective impact (common agenda, shared measurement, mutually reinforcing activities, continuous communication, and backbone support) coalesce to facilitate ECEP's theory of change. The report highlights specific policy changes that ECEP states have addressed to promote BPC, the flipped accountability that results from a non-hierarchical leadership model, and the challenges of measuring systemic changes as an intermediary to BPC.