Creating a Culture for Using Data in School Districts

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Creating a Culture for Using Data in School
Districts

• Paige Kowalski, DQC
• National School Boards Association Annual
  Conference
• April 4, 2009

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Session Overview

• DQC Changing the Data Conversation
• Ten Essential Elements
• Answering Policy Questions with Longitudinal Data
• Progress of States Since 2005 Inception of DQC
• DQC Phase II
• Federal Stimulus Funds (ARRA) Longitudinal Data
  System Opportunities
• District Data Use

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Questions

• List three questions you need your district
  administrators to answer in order for you to be
  an effective school board member.
• Can you currently get these questions answered?

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Changing the Culture Around Data in Education

• Helping Educators View Data
• Not as a Hammer
• But as a Flashlight

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Moving Along the Accountability Spectrum

• Compliance Reporting
• Accountability (rearview mirror viewwhat we did
  well/not so well)
• Continuous Improvement (looking out the front
  window)

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The Ten Essential Elements
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What You Can Do with Longitudinal Data

• Longitudinal data gives you the power to answer
  questions about
• Student academic growth
• Whether students are on track to later success
• School effectiveness with well-prepared and
  poorly-prepared students
• Student mobility and attrition
• Teacher preparation and effectiveness

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Sample Academic Growth Question

• How many students are achieving at least one
  years academic growth every year?

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Data Elements Required to Answer Academic
Growth Question

• 1. A unique statewide student identifier
• 3. The ability to match individual students
  test records from year to year to measure
  academic growth
• 4. Information on untested students
• According to the 2008 DQC Survey of State Data
  Systems, 39 states report having these elements
  and with enough years of data should be able to
  answer this and other academic growth questions.

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Sample College and Career Ready Question

• What high school achievement levels indicate that
  a student is college and work ready?

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Data Elements Required to Answer College and
Career Ready Question

• A unique statewide student identifier
• The ability to match individual students test
  records from year to year to measure academic
  growth
• Student-level college readiness test scores
• The ability to match student records between
  PK-12 and postsecondary systems
• According to the 2008 DQC Survey of State Data
  Systems, 10 states report having these elements
  and with enough years of data should be able to
  answer this and other readiness questions.

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Longitudinal Data Systems and Improvement Efforts

• Longitudinal data systems inform good decision
  making at all levels
• Teachers and administrators are able to tailor
  instruction and programs to individual student
  needs.
• Policymakers are better informed with information
  based on student level data over time.
• Researchers can better evaluate impact of
  specific programs, approaches, and pedagogy on
  student achievement.

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DQC Progress 2005-2008
2005
2008
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DQC Progress State of the States
11/23/2009
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DQC Phase II Expanding the Focus
K
12
P
20

• Align, Link, and Share Data Across the Pipeline
• Pre K and K-12 and Postsecondary
• P-20 with other critical data systems (health,
  labor, social services)
• Across districts and states
• Focus on Using Longitudinal Data for Improving
  Student Achievement

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Phase II of the DQC Changing the culture around
data use and maximizing states investments in
longitudinal data systems.
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Data Opportunities in AARA

• 250 Million for State Longitudinal Data Systems
• Competitive Grant managed by Institute of
  Education Sciences
• Help states implement and use state longitudinal
  data systems (based on DQC ten elements, but also
  postsecondary and workforce data)
• Since 2005 50 states have applied for these
  grants in 3 rounds of funding 27 states have
  received in first 2 last round will be announced
  in near future

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Data Opportunities in AARA

• 53.6 Billion in Stabilization Funds
• 48.6 B to assist education budgets (formula)
• To tap into these funds, states must meet 4
  Assurances
• Equalize Teacher Distribution
• Enhance Quality Alignment of Assessments
• Support Struggling Schools
• IMPROVE THE COLLECTION USE OF LONGITUDINAL DATA
• 5B State Incentive GrantsRace to the Top
• Distributed by Secretary by competitive grant to
  help states fully meet the assurances goals

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Strategic Stimulus Investments to Promote the Use
of Data

• States should consider using ARRA funds to
• Fully implement the DQC 10 Essential Elements
• Embark on the new 10 State Actions to Ensure
  Effective Data Use
• Work collaboratively with districts to ensure
  state systems are built to serve district needs
• Address data architecture issues (and work to
  develop common data models) to promote
  interoperability of data systems

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Best Practices in Data-Driven Districts

• The Data Quality Campaign partnered with APQC
  Education to conduct a benchmarking study on
• Data Collection Reporting
• Collecting and aggregating data from (often
  disparate) data sources
• Ensuring data reliability and validity
• State-district data transfer
• Data Management and Analysis
• Best practices in data management/maintenance
• Best practices in data analysis
• Culture
• Integrating data into daily activities
• Organizational structures, policies, practices
  that promote data use
• Utilization
• Promoting use of data at all levels
• Professional Development/Training

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Best-Practice Partners

• Aldine ISD, TX
• Fulton County Public Schools, GA
• Gwinnett County Public Schools, GA
• Western Heights, OK
• Iredell-Statesville Schools, NC
• Montgomery County Public Schools, MD
• Palatine (CC School District 15), IL
• Clark County Public Schools, NV
• See the APQC study for a complete listing of the
  71 participating districts

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Key Characteristics of Best Practice Districts

• Utilize standards-based measures to inform
  instructional decisions
• Offer professional development opportunities to
  support a culture of data use
• Establish and leverage leadership support of a
  data-driven culture
• Adopt continuous improvement model that tracks
  key indicators
• Design and implement a data governance strategy
  to ensure data quality

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Quality Assurance Framework
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Challenges for Districts in Building a Culture of
Data

• Identification of the questions that you need the
  data to answer
• Communication of data needs between school
  boards, districts, schools, and up to the SEA
• Analytical capacity at the district level
• State understanding of district data needs

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Having a Data Conversation

• Begin a dialogue with your districts
  administrators around data by asking
• What type of professional development do we offer
  around data use at the school and classroom
  level?
• How do we use data to allocate resources?
• What is the process for changing which data are
  collected if key policy questions cannot be
  answered?
• Do all stakeholders (teachers, principals,
  parents, etc.) have access to data?

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Questions

• Do you have any new questions to add to your
  original list of three questions based on what
  you heard today?
• What do you need from your state education agency
  to help you create a culture of data for your
  district?

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Resources

• APQC Best Practices in Data-Driven Decision
  Making
• http//www.apqceducation.org/d3m/Generic_D3M_Repor
  t.pdf
• Council of Great City Schools Managing for
  Results in Americas Great City Schools A
  Report of the Performance Measurement and
  Benchmarking Project
• www.cgcs.org/pubs/managingresults_1008.pdf
• Data Quality Campaign Data-Driven Districts
  Building the Culture and Capacity to Improve
  Student Achievement
• www.DataQualityCampaign.org

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Contact Information

• Paige Kowalski
• Data Quality Campaign
• Paige_at_DataQualityCampaign.org
• 202.262.5004
• www.DataQualityCampaign.org