The following are notes from this weeks community of practice call. The
notes will also be posted on the website. Thank you to all who participated.
The topic for next months call will be Tools the Revised Data Use Toolkit.
We are looking forward to hearing from states on next months call.
Community of Practice March 10, 2011
Participants
NC: Bobbie Grammer CA: Dan Boomer UT: Susan Loving MS: Deborah Donavon
WA: Wendy & Cinda Johnson KY: Judy & Dana Manning NY: Robert Shepperd
NPSO: Ryan Kellems, Deanne Unruh, Charlotte Alverson, & Dawn Rowe.
Thank you for being a part of our Community of Practice
Notes are not verbatim but rather an attempt to capture the essence of what
is shared. Please alert us if there are glaring errors!
Announcements & Reminders:
Secondary Transition State Planning Institute is on May 17-20 in Charlotte,
NC. Email the staffs from NPSO, NDPC-SD, or NSTTAC if you need information
about the conference. If you are a presenter with or for NPSO, we will
contact you soon to discuss the presentation and provide additional
information.
There will be two pre-institute webinars outlining the structure of the
Institute and data state teams needs. The dates for the webinar are April 8
& 13, 2011 at noon Pacific Time.
Topic: SLDS (Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems) FAQ and Indicator 14 Data
Dictionary
Overview of what an SLDS is:
SLDS is a data system that links data across agencies or data within
agencies such as linking special and general Education data or k-12 data
with post-secondary data. Many states have been given federal grants to
establish SLDS systems. The goal of this grant program is to link Early
Childhood, K-12, postsecondary, and labor data. Information about the IES
SLDS program can be found at http://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/
<http://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/> . Specific information about your
state including a copy of its SLDS grant application (if is currently has a
grant) can be found at http://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/stateinfo.asp
<http://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/stateinfo.asp>
Who knows if they currently have SLDS grant in their state?
NY, MS, UT, & NC have SLDS grants. NC looking at how Indicator data can be
collected using a SLDS.
The NPSO¹s role related to SLDS
1. Assist states in making sure post-school outcomes data is tied back
to their states data system (SLDS)
2. Assist states who want to explore using already collected extant data
to report Indicator 14
Question for states-
1. What currently happens to your student level PSO data after it is
collected?
> a. If you use a contractor what data do you get from the contractor? For
> example
> b. Where are student level data stored?
> c. What format are these data in?
> d. Are your raw I-14 survey data incorporated into your state data system?
> e. Other than for reporting the SPP/APR, how are these data used? If so,
> what are they used for?
NC receives a statewide report and local report; used the DUT PPT to report
data. NC does not receive student level data and does not use social
security numbers.
UT contracts with WI, who collects the data via telephone survey; raw data
stored in WI. UT receives report visible publically on website and privately
with username and password for LEA. Do not receive student level data, but
state has unique identify and could possibly link K-12 to higher ed. LEAs
able to access their data and engagement rates (A, B, C) to the LEAs and
whether the LEA met their target. State has a k-16 alliance; does not use
social security numbers. Adult Ed. using the same unique identifier
CA has had a statewide system for approximately 25 years. Currently has 70
or 80 variables and creates 4 tables that can be accessed by CDE, local
education area, and the district. CDE creates district reports for those who
submitted data. UCLA creates reports across years.
MS has the district collect data. Surveys are pre-populated at state level
and uses unique identifier to link student level data (exit data) and
survey. Want to be able to link to other data already in the system, e.g.,
assessment data. LEAs have access to information at their level; reports are
not generated at the SEA level.
WA conducts a census, provides reports at student level to the school,
district, and state; doesn¹t use SSN, uses unique identifier. Goal: link
across data in K-12 system.
KY has LEAs collect data and send to contractors for analysis; does not use
SSN. Data analyzed at state, district, and regional level. State and
regional levels received aggregate data; LEAs receive only their district
level. Raw data are not available, looking to the possibility of having
access to raw data in the future.
NY contractor doesn¹t receive unique identifiers. Districts provided
reported using data displays similar to NPSO Data Display Templates;
expanding the district report to include tabular report for each question on
the survey. Contractor is working with the state to update the NPSO Data Use
Toolkit for use with the LEAs. As a sampling state, districts see the data
only once in 6 years. Raw data are available to the state from the
contractor, starting to look at data at local level.
In general, raw data from I-14 surveys haven¹t been added to the overall
data in the state.
SLDS FAQ:
A draft of the FAQ was reviewed across several of the major questions.
Indicator 14 Data Dictionary:
The purpose of the Indicator 14 Data Dictionary is to assist State Education
Agencies (SEA) as they identify and define what student level data elements
are needed to accurately report Indicator 14 to the Office of Special
Education Programs (OSEP). The data dictionary is meant to be a guide for
SEAs as they begin the process of using their Statewide Longitudinal Data
System (SLDS) to report Indicator 14.
Strategies for use: The data dictionary can be used by SEAs to inform data
managers and other IT related personnel what student level data elements are
needed in a state¹s longitudinal data system to accurately report Indicator
14. The definitions provided are generic and general and intended to be
used as a starting point for states wishing to include Indicator 14 data in
their Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems. Some of the data elements may
need to be calculated by looking at other data sources. For example when
determining hourly wage Unemployment Insurance Wage Records give the total
amount of compensation paid to an individual over a three month period. To
figure the hourly wage it would be necessary to first determine the total
number of hours worked during the reporting period and then divide that by
the total compensation.
Questions regarding Indicator 14 Data Dictionary:
1. What used do you potentially see for this document in your state?
2. Are there other data elements available in your state that could be
used to help report indicator 14?
UT: only students who are part of a system will be captured in the SLDS or
other administrative databases; these databases will not identify
individuals who are ³not engaged².
MD has an agreement with the National Student Clearinghouse to access data
states need an agreement with the clearinghouse to access the clearinghouse
to locate students who go to college out of state. It does not contain all
universities and colleges; may cover more than just the state public
institutes.
Data Dictionary is based on the minimum requirements and definitions needed
to address Indicator 14.
NC planning to share the Data Dictionary with data managers and contractor
to see what data elements are available and needed. NC will explore these
documents with other state folks to get their input.
CA: may need another variable for ³not able to contact².
Mark your calendar for upcoming NPSO CoP calls:
Date Topic Presenter
April 14th Revised Indicator 14 Data Use Toolkit NPSO Staff
May 12th Training Data Collectors NPSO Staff
June 9th Data Collection NPSO Staff
--
Dawn A. Rowe
Project Coordinator
National Post-School Outcome Center
University of Oregon
541-346-8412
dro...@uoregon.edu
www.psocenter.org
