What’s Required?
The Race to the Top (RTTT) second assurance calls for states to adopt longitudinal data systems. Within the RTTT application, there is a significant call for data to drive and inform education reform. The Department of Education believes strongly that longitudinal data will allow for comparative evaluations of schools, improve instructional practice in the classroom and identify student achievement gains. Furthermore, the RTTT data assurance is also evident in the recent formation of, the Data Quality Campaign, a national campaign founded to improve the collection. This campaign was funded by 10 large nonprofit organizations all of which advocate for the availability and use of high quality education data.
Why Longitudinal Data Systems?
While many states currently use data systems to help inform school and student progress, the problem with these data systems – and why RTTT is requiring states to implement longitudinal data systems – is that they are unable to track student information over multiple years and through multiple schools. Without longitudinal data systems teachers are unable to review year-to-year student progress which can make it very difficult gauge the true achievement level of a student.
How Does Washington Measure Up?
Washington is well on its way to meeting this assurance. The data system our state recently adopted—the Comprehensive Education Data and Research System (CEDARS)—aligns fairly well with RTTT’s requirements.
CEDARS was adopted by the state legislature in 2009 through Senate Bill 5941. The implementation of this data and research warehouse is occurring this school year (2009-10). By the end of the first year, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) believes that the data system will help identify those programs and student interventions that are most effective in improving student performance, as well as individual student achievement.
What must Washington do to be competitive?
It is critical that Washington state highlights the CEDARS data system that has recently been adopted in its RTTT application. The state has already taken significant strides in implanting a longitudinal data system and, as such, is strides ahead of other states in regards to this assurance. Furthermore, becoming involved in the Data Quality Campaign will only strengthen the states’ application.
Anne Luce is a guest blogger and graduate student at Seattle University earning a master’s degree in public administration, with a focus on education.
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