The results show that the barriers to implementing the 10 elements are not technical, but instead require leadership and political will. This is evidenced by Idaho’s dramatic growth from three to 10 essential elements in just one year.
“Last year, we were the last state in the nation to implement a longitudinal data system. Now, we are on par with some of the most advanced systems across the United States,” said Tom Luna, Idaho’s superintendent of public instruction and Council of Chief State School Officers president-elect. “In Idaho, we now will have current, accurate data to make better-informed decisions at all levels and to give classroom teachers the data they need to guide instruction every day.”
In addition to tracking state progress toward implementing the 10 essential elements, the DQC also tracks the 10 State Actions to Ensure Effective Data Use. No state has taken all 10 State Actions, so the rich data that states now collect are not strategically linked.
The 10 state actions are:
- Link state K-12 educational data systems with early learning, postsecondary education, workforce, social services and other critical agencies
- Create stable, sustained support for robust state longitudinal data systems
- Develop governance structures to guide data collection, sharing, and use
- Build state data repositories (e.g., data warehouses) that integrate student, staff, financial, and facility data
- Implement systems to provide all stakeholders with timely access to the information they need while protecting student privacy
- Create progress reports with individual student data that provide information educators, parents, and students can use to improve student performance
- Create reports that include longitudinal statistics on school systems and groups of students to guide school-, district-, and state-level improvement efforts
- Develop a purposeful research agenda and collaborate with universities, researchers, and intermediary groups to explore the data for useful information
- Implement policies and promote practices, including professional development and credentialing, to ensure educators know how to access, analyze, and use data appropriately
- Promote strategies to raise awareness of available data and ensure that all key stakeholders, including state policymakers, know how to access, analyze, and use the information
“This is a critical issue for everybody in education,” said Paul Lingenfelter, president of the State Higher Education Executive Officers. “State higher education officers have understood that we need longitudinal data on students. We’re doing a much better job than we would have imagined possible, five years ago, communicating with K-12 and policy makers on the consequences and effects of education.”
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