State Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) Survey 2017-2019

updated August 2017

Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) Survey 2017

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), in the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute for Education Sciences, is authorized to conduct B&B by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002, 20 U.S.C. §9543).

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this voluntary information collection is 1850–0933. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 2 hours per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate, suggestions for improving this collection, or any comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, please write to: Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS), National Center for Education Statistics, Potomac Center Plaza, 550 12^th St., SW, 4th floor, Washington, DC 20202.

Instructions:

Please fill out the form below based on the current status of each specified element or capability in your SLDS, not the status of elements or capabilities of systems that are not linked to your SLDS. While we recognize there are various levels of linking, when we use the term “link”, we are referring to an established technology solution that allows for data to be brought together in a replicable and useful way.

If your state has or is in the process of building more than one SLDS (e.g., K12 and P20W), your responses should reflect the cumulative status and attributes encompassing both systems. A P20W system encompasses information across multiple sectors. It is inclusive of not only K12 data, but could include early learning, postsecondary, and/or workforce data. Therefore, you may have to consult other state agency or department counterparts to complete this survey in its entirety (early learning, postsecondary, workforce, etc.) The data that are collected inform our on-going evaluation and technical assistance efforts, and might be used to assess state needs to guide future grant round agendas. Thank you for completing this survey with accurate responses.

The feature status options are:

• Not Planned - The state is currently not planning to include that element/capability in its SLDS. “Not Planned” should also be marked for items that are not applicable to your state SLDS at this time (legislative prohibitions, “unadopted” interest, etc.);

• Planned - The state intends to include this element/capability in its SLDS and has a documented plan and funding source to implement, but implementation work has not begun;

• In Progress - The state is currently building or implementing this element/capability as part of its SLDS, but it is not yet fully operational; and

• Operational - This element/capability is fully functional and available for its intended users.

Feature	Status						Comments
	Not Planned	Planned			In Progress	Operational
State Education Agency K12 Data
1) Are K12 student data included in the SLDS? Yes No (If No, skip to 5)
2) If so, what types of K12 student data are included?
Demographics
Migrant status
Homelessness status
Attendance
Discipline
Grade-level
Diploma/certificate
Assessments:
Kindergarten entry
Statewide summative/end of course
Statewide benchmark or interim
Local benchmark or interim
AP scores
Information on students not tested by grade and subject
College-readiness test scores (SAT, PSAT)
School enrollment & completion
Course enrollment
Course completion
Virtual school/learning enrollment or participation
Other program participation1
Drop out history
Transfer in/out
In-state postsecondary/dual enrollment
Out-of-state postsecondary/dual enrollment
3) Is there a comprehensive data dictionary for K12 student data elements that contains metadata such as a definition, option sets, type or field length? (If Not Planned, skip to 4)
Is the data dictionary published publically on the agency’s website?
Are K12 student data elements CEDS aligned?
4) How are K12 student data from the SLDS used? (If Not Planned, skip to 5)
Instructional Support (e.g. dashboards for teachers)
Resources for parents (e.g. parent dashboards, consumer scorecards)
Resources for community members, public (consumer scorecards)
Early warning systems
Feedback reports on:
Elementary schools
Middle schools
High school (e.g. graduation rates, SAT scores)
K12 access/equity
Remediation rates by high school upon college entry
Other (please list in the comments)
State reports for/on:
Legislature
Board goals/priorities
Research agenda/strategic plans
Agency law/policy
Policy updates/changes
Curricular alignment decisions/materials
State-level collected courses aligned in SCED
Horizontal and vertical alignment planning
Programs/Interventions needs
Educator placements/transfers
Professional Learning needs for staff
Community/partnership collaboration
Data skills & use training for educators
Direct certification for participation in the National Student Lunch Program
Educator preparation program feedback
Are K12 student data linked to finance data?
Funding decisions
Other (please explain in comments)
K12 Teacher Data
5) Where are K12 teacher data housed? (If Not Planned, skip to 10)
SLDS
P20W SLDS
A separate, central teacher data system
Separate, multiple teacher data systems or source files
6) Is there automated infrastructure in place to link K12 teacher data with K12 student data in the SLDS? Yes No (If No, skip to 9)
7) How are K12 teacher and K12 student data directly linked?
Course Assignment
Statewide unique teacher IDs
Roster Verification process
Other method (please explain in comments)
8) What type of K12 teacher data are directly linked with K12 student data?
Certificate type
Certification path (traditional v. alt-cert)
Postsecondary program/major
Highly Qualified status
Preparation program/institution name
Years of experience
Salary
Assessment results (e.g., Praxis)
Course assignments
Teacher/administrator evaluation data
9) For which of the following are K12 teacher data available for use? (If Not Planned, skip to 10)
Feedback reports on:
Teacher preparation programs
Professional Learning
Educator effectiveness
Other (please explain in comments)
State reports for/on:
Legislature
Board/Agency goals/priorities
Research agenda/strategic plans
Law/Policy requirements
Federal reports:
EDFacts
Other federal reports
Retention/Transfer/Promotion
Merit Pay
Curricular decisions (teacher prep/professional development)
Horizontal and vertical alignment planning
Policy updates
Talent Management
Human Resources
Funding decisions
Are K12 teacher data linked to finance data?
Other (please explain in comments)
Postsecondary Data
10) What are the state source(s) for postsecondary data? (If Not Planned, skip to 17)
P20W SLDS
A separate, central postsecondary data system
Separate, multiple postsecondary data systems or source files
11) Is there automated infrastructure in place to link postsecondary data with K12 student data in the SLDS? Yes No (If No, skip to 15)
12) Who provides postsecondary data for the SLDS?
State 4-year public institutions
State 2-year public institutions
State tribal institutions
State private non-profit institutions
State for-profit/proprietary institutions
National Student Clearinghouse
Out of state postsecondary institutions
13) How are postsecondary and K12 student data directly linked?
An assigned unique identifier
Social Security Number
An element match process
Other method (please explain in comments)
14) What type of postsecondary data are directly linked with K12 student data?
Demographics
Course remediation
Prior postsecondary institutions attended
Program/major upon completion
Recognized postsecondary credential
Period of enrollment
Progress towards completing program or degree
15) Is there a comprehensive data dictionary for postsecondary data elements that contains metadata such as a definition, option sets, type or field length? (If Not Planned, skip to 16)
Are postsecondary data elements CEDS aligned?
16) How are postsecondary data used? (If Not Planned, skip to 17)
Feedback/Outcome reports on:
High Schools
Community college outcomes (e.g. degree attained, graduation rates)
4-year postsecondary institution outcomes
Employment
Instructional Support (e.g. dashboards for professors/administrators)
Resources for parents/community (e.g. parent dashboards, consumer scorecards)
Professional Learning needs for staff
Data skills & use training for staff
Curricular decisions (teacher prep/professional development)
Horizontal and vertical alignment planning
Talent Management
Human Resources
Making policy/guidance updates
Cross-sector collaboration/partnerships
State reports for/on:
Legislature
Board/Agency goals/priorities
Research agenda/strategic plans
Law/Policy requirements
Federal reports
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)
Perkins CTE (non-EDFacts)
Other federal reports
Funding decisions
Other (please explain in comments)
Workforce Data (Employment/Wage and Unemployment Data)
17) Where are workforce data housed? (If Not Planned, skip to 23)
P20W SLDS
A separate, central workforce data system
Separate, multiple workforce data systems or source files
Other (please explain in comments)
18) Is there automated infrastructure in place to link workforce data or other employment data with K12 data? Yes No (If No, skip to 19)
How are workforce data directly linked with K12 student data?
An assigned unique identifier
An element match process
Social Security Number
Another state agency
Other method (please explain in comments)
What type of workforce data are directly linked with K12 student data?
i) Occupation code
ii) Current earnings
iii) Historical earning records
iv) Employer ID
v) Employer county
vi) UI
vii) UC
viii) WIASRD
ix) Wagner-Peyser
x) Trade Adjustment Assistance
19) Is there automated infrastructure in place to link workforce data or other employment data with postsecondary data? Yes No (If No, skip to 20)
a) How are workforce data directly linked with postsecondary data?
i) An assigned unique identifier
ii) An element match process
iii) Social Security Number
iv) Another state agency
v) Other method (please explain in comments)
b) What type of workforce data are directly linked with postsecondary data?
Occupation code
Earnings
Employer ID
Employer county
UI
UC
WIASRD
Wagner-Peyser
Trade Adjustment Assistance
20) Is there automated infrastructure in place to link workforce data or other employment data with adult education and career/technical education (Perkins CTE) data? Yes No (If No, skip to 21)
a) How are workforce data directly linked with adult education and Perkins CTE data?
An assigned unique identifier
Element match process
Social Security Number
Another state agency
Other method (please explain in comments)
21) Is there a comprehensive data dictionary for workforce data elements that contains metadata such as a definition, option sets, type or field length? (If Not Planned, skip to 22)
Are workforce data elements CEDS aligned?
22) How are workforce data used? (If Not Planned, skip to 23)
Feedback reports on:
District-level, college-going and employment outcomes
Regional-level, college-going and employment outcomes
Adult education programs, college-going and employment outcomes
Community colleges, transfer and employment outcomes
4-year postsecondary institutions, transfer or continuing education and employment outcomes
Perkins CTE programs
Industry need/saturation
State reports for/on:
Legislature
Board/Agency goals/priorities
Research agenda/strategic plans
Law/Policy requirements
Workforce/Economic Development Programs
Federal reports
Cross-sector collaboration/discussion
Funding decisions
Other (please explain in comments)
Perkins Career/Technical Education (CTE) and Adult Education (Vocational Education and Workforce Training Data)
23) Where are Perkins CTE data housed? (If Not Planned, skip to 29)
SLDS
P20W SLDS
A separate, central Perkins CTE data system
Separate, multiple Perkins CTE data systems or source files
24) Is there automated infrastructure in place to link Perkins CTE data with K12 student data in the SLDS? Yes No (If No, skip to 27)
25) How are Perkins CTE and K12 student data directly linked?
An assigned unique identifier
An element match process
Social Security Number
Another state agency
Other method (please explain in comments)
26) What type of Perkins CTE data are directly linked with K12 student data?
Program area/program of study
Participation
Placement (after leaving program)
Certificates
27) Is there a comprehensive data dictionary for Perkins CTE data elements that contains metadata such as a definition, option sets, type or field length? (If Not Planned, skip to 28)
Are Perkins CTE data elements CEDS aligned?
28) How are Perkins CTE data used? (If Not Planned, skip to 29)
Feedback reports on:
High schools
Completers
Postsecondary institutions
Training programs
Employment
Program placements
Instructional Support (e.g. dashboards for teachers)
Resources for public, community members (consumer scorecards)
e) State Reports
Legislature
Board/Agency goals/priorities
Research agenda/strategic plans
Law/Policy requirements
Federal reports
Perkins CTE (Non-EDFacts)
Other federal reports
Workforce readiness reports by Career Cluster/Industry
Professional Learning needs for staff
Data skills & use training for educators
Curricular/material decisions
Horizontal and vertical alignment planning
Talent Management
Human Resources
Making policy/guidance updates
Cross-sector collaboration
Funding decisions
Other (please explain in comments)
29) From which programs are adult education participation data directly linked with K12 student data? (If Not Planned, skip to 30)
Adult Basic Education (ABE)
Adult Secondary Education (ASE)
ESOL
Early Childhood Data
30) Where are early childhood data housed? (If Not Planned, skip to 37)
P20W SLDS
A separate, central early childhood data system
Separate, multiple early childhood data systems or source files
31) Is there automated infrastructure in place to link early childhood data with K12 student data in the SLDS? Yes No (If No, skip to 35)
32) How are early childhood and K12 student data directly linked?
An assigned unique identifier
An element match process
Social Security Number
Another state agency
Other method (please explain in comments)
33) From which programs are early childhood participation data directly linked with K12 student data?
Head Start
Early Head Start
Publicly funded Pre-K
Private Pre-K
Child Care
Special Educ., Part B of IDEA (619)
Early Intervention, Part C of IDEA
Other programs/services
34) What type of early childhood data are directly linked with K12 student data?
Demographics
Assessment data
Provider data:
Licensure
Certification
Training/PD
Other
Program data:
Provider/center
Program attributes
Quality ratings
35) Is there a comprehensive data dictionary for early childhood data elements that contains metadata such as a definition, option sets, type or field length? (If Not Planned, skip to 36)
Are early childhood data elements CEDS aligned?
36) How are early childhood data used? (If Not Planned, skip to 37)
Early childhood programs/outcomes/interventions
Program/Intervention placements
Instructional Support (e.g. dashboards for teachers)
Resources for parents (e.g. parent dashboards, consumer scorecards)
Resources for soon-to-be parents, community, public (consumer scorecards)
Professional Learning needs for staff
Curricular decisions
Data skills & use training for educators
Policy updates
Talent Management
Human Resources
Community/partnership collaboration
Horizontal and vertical alignment planning
n) State reports for/on:
Legislature
Board/Agency goals/priorities
Research agenda/strategic plans
Law/Policy requirements
o) Federal reports
Special Education (Non-EDFacts)
Other federal reports
Funding decisions
q) Other (please explain in comments)
Interoperability (The ability for different systems to communicate, exchange data and use information that has been exchanged.)
37) Through a replicable, automated process does student-level data move:
Across LEAs in the state through Student Records Exchange (SRE or SREx)
From LEAs to the state through Student Records Exchange (SRE or SREx)
From K12 to postsecondary institutions in state through E-transcripts
To other states’ SEAs via SRE
To other states’ postsecondary entities via e-transcripts
Cross-state data-sharing (e.g. SEED, MEIC, WRIS, WRIS 2)
Other (please explain in comments)
Data Matching (The task of identifying, matching and merging records that correspond to the same entities from multiple systems.)
38) Based on the individuals identified as postsecondary students in the SLDS, what percentage of postsecondary students is matched to former in-state K12 students? (Please select one. If not applicable, skip to 39)
Greater than 90%
75-90%
50-75%
Less than 50%
39) Based on the individuals identified as employed within the state in the SLDS, what percentage of individuals who are employed is matched to former in-state K12 students? (Please select one. If not applicable, skip to 40)
Greater than 90%
75-90%
50-75%
Less than 50%
40) Based on the individuals identified as employed within the state in the SLDS, what percentage of individuals who are employed is matched to former in-state postsecondary students? (Please select one. If not applicable, skip to 41)
Greater than 90%
75-90%
50-75%
Less than 50%
Data Use
41) Additional federal and state reports produced by the SLDS include: (If no additional federal and state reports are planned, skip to 41)
Statewide Assessment Non-Participation Report by type/category (Opt out, absent, medical emergency, etc.)
Commitment to Data Quality reports (timeliness of submissions/certifications, error correction rate prior to certification, etc.)
Usage statistics by user role (Teachers, Administrators, SEA, Public, etc.)
Agency/Board goal/initiative/policy attainment
Agency Research Agenda Priorities
State legislature
Other (please explain in comments)
42) How does the state find out how critical stakeholders and stakeholder groups are using the SLDS dashboards/reports/tools2?
Large-scale surveys
Post-training evaluations
Focus groups
Interviews
Observations
Ad hoc feedback
Other (please explain in comments)

² Critical stakeholders and stakeholder groups, sometimes referred to as user roles, are identified by and unique to each State. They include individuals and groups ranging from the public to the State’s senior government officials, and often depend on the data sources included within the State’s SLDS, investment in SLDS initiatives and programs, and overall State objectives and priorities.

Comments & Feedback:

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Definitions:

Adult Education: A program providing basic education and literacy services to adults over the age of 16 who are not currently enrolled in school and lack a high school diploma or the basic skills to function effectively in the workplace and in their daily lives.

AP (Advanced Placement): A curriculum sponsored by the College Board that offers standardized college-level courses and aligned summative assessments to high school students.

Benchmark or interim assessment: An assessment administered throughout the school year that a) evaluates student knowledge and skills relative to a specific set of academic goals, usually within a limited period of time, and b) is designed to give educators immediate, formative feedback on how students are performing and inform decisions at the classroom and school or district level.

CCD (Common Core of Data): A program of the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics that annually collects fiscal and non-fiscal data about all public schools, public school districts and state education agencies in the United States.

CEDS (Common Education Data Standards): The Common Education Data Standards (CEDS) project is a national collaborative effort to develop voluntary, common data standards for a key set of education data elements to streamline the exchange, comparison, and understanding of data within and across P20W institutions and sectors.

Demographics: Characteristics of individual students, including date of birth, gender, race/ethnicity, and disability status.

Diploma/certificate: The credential earned by a completer or graduate, including high school diploma, special education diploma, modified diploma, certificate of attendance, and GED.

Discipline: Information about student infractions of rules, including type of incident, type of disciplinary action, duration of disciplinary action, etc.

EDFacts: EDFacts is a U. S. Department of Education initiative to centralize performance data supplied by K-12 state education agencies (SEAs) with other data assets, such as financial grant information, within the Department to enable better analysis and use in policy development, planning and management

ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages)

Highly Qualified Status (HQ): teacher who meets all of the following criteria: (1) Holds at least a bachelor degree from a four-year institution. (2) Fully certificated or licensed by the state. (3) Demonstrates competence in each core academic subject area in which the teacher teaches.

IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act): The program in which children ages 3 through 5 attend and in which these children receive special education and related services.

IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System): A system of interrelated surveys conducted annually by the U.S. Department’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

Kindergarten entry assessment: An assessment used to determine children’s skills and abilities at the time they enter kindergarten. The assessment informs instruction and services in the early elementary grades.

Match process: The protocol or series of steps used to analyze all the information relating to individuals and/or entities from multiple sources of data to determine whether the same individual or entity exists in more than one database. May include use of SSN.

NSC (National Student Clearinghouse): A national repository of postsecondary enrollment data.

Occupation code: Permitted values within the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system used by federal statistical agencies

Perkins: The Federal Perkins Loan Program provides low-interest loans to help needy students finance the costs of postsecondary education.

Perkins Career/Technical Education (CTE): The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins CTE) provides federal support for CTE programs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the territories. The law focuses on the academic and technical achievement of CTE students, strengthening the connections between secondary and postsecondary education, and improving accountability.

Pre-K: An early childhood education program serving students before kindergarten.

Program/major: Program/major is defined as the program or major that a student completed when they earned a degree.

Recognized Postsecondary Credential: Credential consisting of an industry-recognized certificate or certification, a certificate of completion of an apprenticeship, a license recognized by the State involved or by the Federal Government, or an associate or baccalaureate degree.

Remediation: Instructional courses designed for students deficient in the general competencies necessary for a regular postsecondary curriculum and educational setting.

SNAP (The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program): As of Oct. 1, 2008, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the new name for the federal Food Stamp Program.

Special Education, Part B of IDEA (Section 619): A specially designed instruction provided to preschool children ages 3-5 with disabilities as defined in IDEA

SRE (Student Record Exchange): A system and process for exchanging electronic versions of students’ academic records among education agencies to facilitate the registration, course placement, and provision of services when students transfer.

Summative/end of course assessment: An assessment given at the end of a unit of time (such as a semester or school year) to evaluate students’ performance

Trade Adjustment Assistance: Program is a federal entitlement program that assists U.S. workers who have lost or may lose their jobs as a result of foreign trade. This program seeks to provide adversely affected workers with opportunities to obtain the skills, credentials, resources, and support necessary to become reemployed. (DOL).

UC (Unemployment Compensation): The Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees program provides benefits for eligible unemployed former civilian federal employees.

UI (Unemployment Insurance): The Department of Labor's Unemployment Insurance (UI) programs provide unemployment benefits to eligible workers who become unemployed through no fault of their own, and meet certain other eligibility requirements.

Wagner-Peyser: The Wagner-Peyser Act of 1933 established a nationwide system of public employment offices known as the Employment Service. The system provides universal access to an integrated array of labor exchange services so that workers, job seekers and businesses can find the services they need in one stop and frequently under one roof in easy-to-find locations.

WIA (Workforce Investment Act): WIA reforms federal job training programs and creates a new, comprehensive workforce investment system. The reformed system is intended to be customer-focused, to help Americans access the tools they need to manage their careers through information and high quality services, and to help U.S. companies find skilled workers.

*If you would like to provide any feedback or suggestions to the SLDS Survey, please contact Kristen King (Kristen.king@ed.gov).

1 Programs include free & reduced price lunch or other SES indicator, Title I, English language learners, special education, Section 5.

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