IES/NCES Elementary/Secondary School Studies and Data Tools

IES/NCES Elementary/Secondary School Studies and Data Tools

1) State longitudinal Data Systemhttp://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds

2) HSLS:09 (coming soon)

3) Census Mapping http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sdds

4) Build a Tablehttp://nces.ed.gov/ ccd/bat

Legislative Background

• Authorized in 2002 by the Education Sciences Reform Act and the Educational Technical Assistance Act

• The grants are cooperative agreements – a form of grant in which the federal government has a more active involvement than in typical grants.

• 3-year awards of $1.5 to $6 million per State• November 2005: 14 SEAs awarded over $52 million• June 2007: 13 SEAs awarded over $62 million

SLDS Grants Program

Eligibility

• Eligible applicants: the principal education agencies of:the 50 Statesthe District of Columbiathe Commonwealth of Puerto Ricothe United States Virgin IslandsAmerican SamoaGuamthe Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Grant Awardees

FY 2007• Arizona• Colorado• District of Columbia• Indiana• Kansas• Maine• Nebraska• Nevada• New Hampshire• North Carolina• Oregon• Utah• Virginia

FY 2006• Alaska• Arkansas• California• Connecticut• Florida• Kentucky• Maryland• Michigan• Minnesota• Pennsylvania• Ohio• South Carolina• Tennessee• Wisconsin

The Goal of the Grant Program

The overarching, long-term goal of this program is to increase states' capacity to conduct meaningful analyses and research that will guide decision-making and result in improved instruction and learning of all students.

An additional goal of this program is to leverage the work supported with grant funds to facilitate the development and use of longitudinal data systems by other State and local education agencies. This will be achieved, in part, by disseminating lessons learned and non-propriety products/solutions developed by recipients of these grants.

Successful Strategies for Developing SLDS – Lessons Learned

Necessary components of SLDS projects that are emerging from the most successful projects:Well organized governance structure to manage data ownership, decisions, and communicationsFormalized structures for working closely with LEAs and other stakeholders on designing, testing, and using SLDS and its portalsEffective communications about the project to stakeholdersHigh quality SEA IT staff working closely with state program offices

Interstate Data Compatibility and Linking to Postsecondary and Labor Data

• Rising interest among states to figure out how to build data structures for seamless transfers of student records across state lines

• Debate about the necessity for storing SSNs to allow for effective e-Transcripts and reliable connections to post-secondary and labor data

• Difficulties of securing data exchange agreements especially across state lines

HSLS:09

• Begins in the Fall 0f 2009• 800 9TH Grade Schools• 20,000 9TH Grade Students• Students, Parents, School Administrators, Teachers,

and School Counselors will be surveyed• Assessments in Math and Science• Follow-ups in 2012, 2015 ……

OBJECTIVES of HSLS:09

• To Understand Students’ trajectories from the Beginning of High School into Postsecondary Education or the Workplace and Beyond.

• To Understand How Students Plan and Make Decisions About Postsecondary Education Options.

• To Understand What Factors Influence Students’ Decisions about Taking STEM courses

• To Develop Links with Administrative Data

Student Survey Content Areas

• Information for Future Follow-ups (e.g., locating information)

• School Experiences and Activities• Plans for the Future• Postsecondary Decision Making• Math and Science Coursework• Family Background• Beliefs, Opinions about Self

Planned Follow-ups

• 1st Follow-up – Spring of Junior year in High School

• College Status Update – Summer After Senior Year

• High School Transcripts• 2nd Follow-up – Spring of

Sophomore year in College

First Follow-up Survey

• Most Students will be in 11th Grade• Dropouts Followed with Certainty• Cognitive Gains in Math• High School Transcripts• High School Administrators

Second Follow-Up

• Respondents Will be Two Years Out of High School

• Access and Persistence Issues• Participation in STEM Related

Education and Workplace Pursuits• Readiness Issues – Who Does Not

Go to College?

Availability Of Data

• Fall of 2010 – HSLS:09 Data as ECBs and DASs

• Descriptive Summary Report on 9th

Graders• State Reports that Utilize Linkage

to Administrative Data

State Augmentations

• National Sample Contains Schools from the States

• Linkage of State Administrative Data with Survey Data

• Long Term Commitment

How Many Schools Should be Added?

• Number in National Sample from Each State is Proportional to Number of Students in State

• State Representative Sample – Minimum Recommended is 30

• Number in Augmentation Depends on the Comparisons that a State Wants to Make

Census Mapping Project

• American Community Survey• School Geocoding• School District Demographics

System

School District Demographics System

• To provide access to information about school district demographic resources

• To enable users to directly access school district geographic and demographic data.

• To provide information about school district demographic concepts, uses, and applications to facilitate effective use of these information resources