The State Education Department (SED) is developing a statewide student data system designed to reduce the local burden of data collection, provide basic data analysis tools to local educational agencies and provide a consistent and widely understood approach for collecting, storing, analyzing and using data about students.  Such a system will give teachers and administrators access to analyses of assessment results and links to related curricular and instructional materials. 

The following is an overview of the comprehensive system.  We are asking your support and cooperation in these initiatives, as we continue to refine our policy directions. 

Overall Purpose  We are implementing a statewide system of student data to meet the policy development, program improvement and program accountability needs of the school districts and the State.  The system will provide longitudinal records of performance and program services for students even when they transfer between districts.  The existing environment of overlapping systems creates redundancies that are expensive and time-consuming.  Resources are no longer available to allow fractured data activities to continue.

Benefits of Statewide System  A statewide system will provide a uniform and efficient method for school districts to meet State reporting requirements.  Such a system will be imperative when statewide standardized assessments in grades 3-8 are instituted in 2005-06, as required by NCLB.  We are reviewing program applications and plans required by the State to define data items and eliminate duplicate data requests.  The resulting coordinated system will facilitate data collection, reporting and analytical information to conduct instructional improvement strategies.

Elements of a Statewide System  The statewide system consists of several components that can be divided into three broad categories:

·        Local and regional data systems

·        Statewide student data system

·        Data analysis and tools for instruction

Local and Regional Data Systems

The Department recognizes that all student-level data begins at the local level.  Therefore, statewide efforts must account for local practices and needs and provide guidance and support to local and regional efforts to collect and manage student data.  The Department will provide leadership, guidance and support in three core areas:

Data Standards  Data standards help to ensure data quality by defining the meaning and purpose of data items, as well as their format and structure.  These standards will facilitate the transfer of data stored in local student information systems to regional and State databases.  We will build on existing data standards, with the goal of having statewide standards for all data elements.

Data Requirements  The core of the statewide data system is individual student data.  All individual student data originates at the school level and is used by the school district to support many purposes.  Some, but not all of these data, need to be submitted to the State Education Department to meet State and federal requirements.  Our aim is to collect these data once and use these items for multiple purposes.

Local Technical Assistance  For districts and regional centers to participate effectively in a statewide system, they must understand and use the statewide data standards.  We will provide technical assistance to regional and district staff to support this transition.  Our approach to this assistance will be consistent with our other efforts in developing regional centers and providing regionalized technical assistance.  The purpose of this assistance will be to ensure that district staff understand the current technical environment and have the information they need to provide high-quality data.  The integrity of a statewide system rests on those staff at the district level who provide quality data to the system.  Districts need to have staff available to be trained for the provision of data to warehouses and the State.

Statewide Student Data System

The State Education Department will build a centralized data repository that will serve as the repository for the data that SED collects.  This repository will provide the data needed to meet SED’s federal and State reporting obligations and to inform State policy development.  The repository will rely on two components, a system of statewide unique student identifiers and a repository of student performance, program and demographic data.

Unique Student Identifier  SED is designing a system to provide a stable, unique student identifier to every student in New York State’s public schools.  This system will assign a unique identifier to every K through grade 12 public school student in New York State.  Districts will be able to obtain and use student identifiers in the school year 2004-05; identifiers must be used by the data repositories for student accountability data in 2005-06.  This will enable better tracking of students, enhance student data reporting and improve data quality.  This system will be useful to districts as well as the State in ensuring that all students are uniquely identified.  The statewide identifier will not replace any existing systems or local identifiers.  A matching process will be used to associate State-assigned identifiers with local identifiers.
 

Statewide Data Repository  We will create a statewide repository of student data required for the State to meet its reporting requirements.  This will be a subset of data collected and maintained regionally in student data warehouses and locally in district systems.  No student names will be collected in this repository, although individual data will be stored.  We are in the process of reviewing the Department’s data collection systems to define the data items that will meet State and federal requirements.  To the extent possible, we will collect these data elements through the statewide system and use them for all required purposes.

Continuation of STEP and LEAP Reporting Systems  The STEP and LEAP data collection and reporting systems will be continued until the statewide system can perform the functions now performed by STEP and LEAP.  This means that school districts should anticipate using the STEP and LEAP systems to report their data in the summer 2004 and 2005 reporting cycles.  SED anticipates that STEP and LEAP will incorporate the unique student identifier in the 2004-05 reporting cycle.  By the 2005-06 school year, the statewide system will include all of the data elements required for the accountability system and the school report card.  The system will then be able to produce the necessary reports to allow districts to verify the accuracy of their data and review their accountability status before officially submitting data.  At that time, STEP and LEAP will be completely phased out.

Data Analysis and Tools for Instruction

Administrators and teachers in local educational agencies should have the capacity to use the information in statewide and local student databases to improve instruction and thereby improve student performance.  SED is committed to providing a baseline of analytical tools and curriculum resources.

Data Analysis Support  It is expected that data derived from State assessments will contribute to the variety of information available at the school and district levels for making instructional decisions regarding curriculum, instruction, staff development, student programs and fiscal priorities.  Data from State assessments should be integrated with regional, district, school and student data in order to create informed educational policies and programs.  For this purpose it is important to consider the integration of disparate data systems in order to provide a supportive planning and decision support system. 

Instructional Content  A driving force of these initiatives is the need to improve instruction, which is one of the major reasons for the collection and analysis of data.  To this end, we are developing an education portal, the New York State Virtual Learning System (VLS).  VLS will provide instructional content to teachers that will assist in aligning instruction with the State’s learning standards.  The web portal organizes resources and tools to provide “one-stop shopping” for instructional needs.  This centralized resource will eliminate the time and effort that is involved in searching and researching appropriate educational resources, and will ensure that resources are of high quality.  Online professional development opportunities will also be available through VLS.

Integrated Model and Functions
 

The roles and responsibilities of the principal institutions critical to achieving a statewide system are as follows:

Ø      State Education Department

The New York State Education Department, in order to close gaps in student achievement, will foster the development of a statewide system to meet federal and State data reporting requirements.  We are responsible to ensure resources are provided efficiently and effectively, set standards, reduce redundancy, promote equity and highlight best practices. 

Ø      Regional Information Centers (RICs) and Big 5 City School Districts

Regional Information Centers, the New York City Department of Education and the other “Big Four” city school districts are core partners in this effort, organizing data at the regional level and providing coordination between the State Education Department and school districts.  Some of these entities have constructed regional warehouses to develop, maintain and support the statewide data collection process, in compliance with regionally-developed data standards determined through local planning processes.

Ø      BOCES
BOCES will work with local school districts to provide technical assistance in data analysis that will support staff in making use of the data appropriately.  BOCES will coordinate the design and delivery of targeted staff development that supports school improvement efforts derived from the analysis of data.  Additionally, BOCES are providing content and tools as part of the current configuration of the statewide Virtual Learning System (VLS).

Ø      School Districts and Schools

Districts are responsible for providing quality data and for using data as an integral part of their planning processes, including staff development.  Districts must designate staff to be trained in the provision of quality data and staff to be trained in the use of data and reports from the repository to improve curriculum and instruction.

Statewide Model  The diagram at the end of this memo is a simplified rendering of the various systems that need to be integrated in order for a statewide data collection system to be effective.  The unique student identifiers in the system will facilitate the secure retrieval of information about students, even those transferring between districts, and will assist districts in uniquely identifying district students.

Implementation Plan  The State Education Department has established a governance structure to provide overall coordination, communication and management oversight for the statewide student data collection activities.  An Executive Committee, comprised of senior managers in the Department, provides overall project leadership.  A Steering Committee, including representatives from school districts, BOCES, and Regional Information Centers, reviews project progress, determines policy issues and oversees communications to the field.  An internal Implementation Committee will be responsible for day-to-day activities of the project, including development of the project plan, timetables for deliverables and reports.  Tom Ruller of the Office of Information Technology Services will be the lead staff person for project implementation.  All groups have been meeting and working on their tasks and responsibilities.

Your cooperation and support in these endeavors is appreciated.  We will be consulting with groups around the State in the months ahead to further refine the tasks and activities needed to implement these systems.  If you have any questions about this memo, you may send them to emscgen@mail.nysed.gov.