Giving Compass' Take:

• Jessica Leigh Brown shares four ways to ensure that State Longitudinal Data Systems reach their potential to help students and teachers. 

• How can funders help states to improve their longitudinal data systems?

• Learn about the importance of state education data systems. 

Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia have a Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) in place to connect data between educational systems.

Sparked by the availability of federal grants to build them starting in 2005, these data systems monitor students’ demographic information, progress and involvement, and the insights they yield can be used to tailor instructional approaches, inform administrators about at-risk populations, and ultimately narrow achievement gaps. Sixteen states have SLDS systems that also bring together early childhood education, K-12, post-secondary and workforce data, providing a panoramic view of education outcomes.

Data sharing and analysis yields obvious advantages for teachers, administrators and state education departments. “You cannot make good decisions without information,” says Claus Von Zastrow, principal at the Education Commission of the States (ECS), a nonprofit that has conducted research on SLDS development. “Having access to this data allows policymakers to make decisions without flying blind.”

Many states are still in the process of building out their SLDS or getting it off the ground. These four best practices can help administrators and state-level education leaders along the way.

  1. Program sustainability: Even after an SLDS is created, it remains in danger if funding dwindles or new state leaders fail to take an interest in sustaining the program.
  2. Data privacy: Data security and privacy are serious — and legitimate — concerns for all SLDS stakeholders, but especially for students and their parents.
  3. Engaged K-12 leaders and users: At every level, from the state department of education to the school, there needs to be leadership to create a culture of data use.
  4. Ongoing training and communication: Training is a necessity when introducing a new technology tool, but for an SLDS to remain successful, coaching end users needs to be a continuing exercise.

Read the full article about Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems by Jessica Leigh Brown at Education Dive.