the dQC has identified 10 actions that states must take to ensure effective use of education data – the fundamental steps that states must take to change the culture around how data are used to inform decisions and policies to improve student achievement. these State actions are important not just for charter schools and authorizers, but also for the public education system as a whole. according to the dQC’s 2009-10 Annual Survey Update and State Progress Report, Colorado has achieved only one of the 10 State actions.18 Colorado
has not yet achieved the following State actions: • link state data systems across the P-20/workforce
spectrum.
• Create stable, sustained support for robust state longitudinal data systems.
• Build state data repositories that integrate student, staff, financial and facility data.
• Create progress reports using individual student data to improve student performance.
• Create reports using longitudinal statistics to guide system-wide improvement efforts.
• develop a P-20/workforce research agenda. • Promote educator professional development and
credentialing.
• Promote strategies to raise awareness of available data.
Note: It is unknown at this time whether Colorado has achieved the DQC State Action to implement systems to provide timely access to information. The DQC did not evaluate this Action last year due to a flaw in the survey. Although the DQC did not evaluate this Action in the 2009-10 survey, it is addressed below for Colorado policymakers’ awareness and consideration.
the rest of this subsection discusses the specific components that Colorado still lacks for each of the above State actions.
link State Data Systems
across the p-20/Workforce Spectrum
academic data and performance histories alone cannot provide a complete picture of the challenges students face and the programs and services they take part in outside the classroom that affect student achievement. By linking data systems across the P-20/workforce spectrum, states will be able to evaluate whether: a) students, schools, and districts are meeting college and career readiness expectations; b) students are receiving services for which they are eligible; and c) students are receiving effective interventions.
While such a system is not yet up and running in Colorado, policy to create a system was passed in 2010 and resources secured to enable a system to be in place by the end of 2013. (See “ability to Match Student-level P-12 and higher education data,” page 30.)
Create Stable, Sustained Support for robust State longitudinal Data Systems
longitudinal data systems are not one-time investments but a critical state infrastructure that requires maintenance and enhancements over time to meet new stakeholder demands. a key factor in ensuring that state longitudinal data systems remain viable over time is stakeholder use and demand for these systems. States can help to foster this sustainability through codifying a state P-20 state longitudinal data system, as well as by providing maintenance and expansion funding.
given the local control environment in place in Colorado, it will be particularly important for the state to build buy-in or make the use of the data system mandatory, while also providing the funds necessary for districts and schools to implement the system, including training on its use for internal and external data exchange.
reCommeNDatioNS
Colorado should enact policy to implement the following components of this State action:
a. a statewide P-20 longitudinal data system is mandated by executive order or legislation. B. State P-20 longitudinal data systems receive state
funding for ongoing maintenance.
C. State P-20 longitudinal data systems receive state funding for system expansion.
implement Systems to provide all Stakeholders with timely access to the information they Need While protecting Student privacy19
data are useful only if people are able to access, understand, and use them. Without access to the right information, stakeholders are forced to make decisions based on anecdote, experience, or instinct. For information to be useful, it must be timely, readily available, and easy to understand.
different stakeholders need, and are entitled to, access to different types of information. For example, teachers and school administrators need access to individual longitudinal information on the students in their charge. Parents need information on their own children. other users, such as charter school authorizers, members of the general public, or parents seeking information on the performance of their children’s schools, need access to aggregate statistics based on longitudinal data that do not reveal information on individual students. By granting access to different types of users based on the kinds of information to which they are entitled, state data systems can provide access to information while fully protecting student privacy. Currently, Cde distributes student-level data only to district superintendents. district superintendents across the state, however, have various local policies around data privacy, leading to differential distribution of student-level data to school leaders and/or teachers across the state. While some teachers have access to the state’s student-level data for every student in their school, others have access only to data generated in their own buildings. this differential interpretation of Family educational rights and Privacy act policy has led to gross inconsistencies in educators’ ability to serve their students well—a situation that the state’s policymakers need to step in and remedy.
reCommeNDatioNS
a. Colorado should put into statute a mandatory data sharing policy that provides all educators with access to the longitudinal data that will help them serve the students with whom they work. the mandate should also define a timeline for when this data should be provided to educators, in a manner that makes the data relevant (i.e., as close to real time as possible).
19 the dQC did not issue an analysis on this State action in its 2009-2010 survey because the survey instrument failed to collect adequate information. the dQC will provide this information in its 2010-11 analysis. this State action is nevertheless included here for Colorado policymakers’ awareness and consideration.
Create progress reports with individual Student Data to improve Student performance
Creating progress reports using student-level longitudinal data enriches the information that is available to parents and teachers by providing information on a student’s academic history, including courses taken, grades received, and scores on formative and statewide assessments.
the state currently produces only one of the reports recommended by the dQC (the one predicting student proficiency given the students’ current level growth on state assessments). however, as was mentioned in the previous section, not all educators are granted access to such reports and the state currently leaves it up to the districts to decide whether all parents should receive copies of their children’s reports.
reCommeNDatioNS
Colorado should enact policies to implement the following components of this State action:
a. State produces at least two reports using student- level data.
B. State produces diagnostic report(s).
C. State produces early warning indicator report(s). d. State produces readiness report(s).
e. teachers are provided access to at least two reports. f. Counselors are provided access to at least two
reports.
G. Principals are provided access to at least two reports. h. district staff members are provided access to at least
two reports.
i. Select state education agency staff members are provided access to at least two reports.
j. Post-secondary staff members are provided access to at least two reports.
k. Parents and students are provided access to at least two reports.
Create reports using longitudinal Statistics to Guide System-wide improvement efforts
all stakeholders need information on school, district, and state performance to gauge progress and make decisions to support continuous improvement at all education levels. reports that include longitudinal statistics provide valuable information about the effectiveness of schools, programs, policies, and interventions for students who start out at different academic levels.
using aggregate-level longitudinal data, states can produce:
• Feedback reports from higher education to K-12, from high schools to middle schools, from middle schools to elementary schools, and from elementary schools to early childhood programs, providing educators and policymakers with information about how students from one particular school or program performs at the next level of education.
• Student academic performance and growth reports to assess whether students who entered middle school or high school at low performance levels are improving fast enough to get them on track to enter college or careers by the time they graduate from their current schools.
• longitudinal graduation and completion reports disaggregated by student prior performance, allowing states to determine whether some high schools are more effective than others in getting at-risk students to graduate.
• reports based on the analysis of the relationship between course completion, course grades, exam results and later success, providing states with the ability to assess whether certain benchmarks or course taking patterns are accurate indicators of future success.
the Colorado department of education has invested significant resources building out their new data communication hub - SchoolView.org. While not all types of dQC recommended reports are yet available on this site, the state does currently post for public consumption a number of them, including school, district, and state level performance reports and graduation and completion reports (although graduation and completion rate analyses are not presented based on student starting points).
reCommeNDatioNS
Colorado should enact policy to implement the following components of this State action:
a. State produces at least two reports using aggregate- level data.
B. State produces feedback report(s).
C. State produces report(s) using relational analysis. d. at least two reports using aggregate data are posted
on the state education agency’s website.
Develop a p-20/Workforce research agenda
to make full use of the longitudinal data that states are collecting, states need access to individuals with high-level analytical skills and research training to mine the data and answer the multitude of policy and evaluation questions. through the formation of strategic partnerships with universities and other organizations that conduct educational research or serve as advocacy organizations, states will be provided with information and analysis that could inform decision-making and improve student and system performance.
reCommeNDatioNS
Colorado should enact policies to implement the following components of this State action:
a. State has developed a P-20 workforce agenda in conjunction with other organizations.
B. State has developed a P-20 workforce agenda in conjunction with an inter-agency data governance committee.
C. State has developed a P-20 workforce agenda in conjunction with universities.
d. State has developed a P-20 workforce agenda in conjunction with outside researchers.
e. State has developed a P-20 workforce agenda in conjunction with intermediaries.
promote educator professional Development and Credentialing
to ensure that data are used to inform teaching in the classroom and to promote continuous improvement at the school and district levels, educators must be trained in how to access, analyze, and interpret the data. States can develop the capacity of educators to use data by implementing appropriate policies for both pre-service and in-service staff.
reCommeNDatioNS
Colorado should enact policies to implement the following components of this State action:
a. State’s credentialing or licensure processes require teachers, principals, and superintendents to demonstrate adequate ability to interpret and use student-level and aggregate-level data.
B. State works with teacher preparation or leadership programs to offer instruction on how to use student- level or aggregate-level data to educators (teachers, principals, or superintendents).
C. State provides support to post-secondary institutions to offer instruction to teachers, principals, and superintendents on how to use student-level data. d. State automatically shares data with teacher
preparation program.
e. State shares aggregate-level information about how teachers perform as measured through their students’ performance data and course data.
promote Strategies to raise awareness of available Data
in addition to educators, other stakeholders (including students, parents, charter authorizers, policymakers, and community members) need to know what data are available and be able to access, interpret, and use data effectively. Few stakeholders have had access to longitudinal education data; consequently, few will automatically know how to use the information effectively.
reCommeNDatioNS
Colorado should enact policies to implement the following components of this State action:
a. Stakeholders are informed of the type of data that are being collected and the types of reports that are being generated.
B. Parents and students are offered data interpretation training.