EdVocate West Blog
Statewide Data Systems
In a state of more than 1,000 school districts and 6.2 million students, the easy exchange of information is imperative. Without good data, the state’s most vulnerable students—many of whom are highly mobile—fall through the cracks. A high-functioning, statewide longitudinal data system will ensure that data on students and their achievement follows them as they move from grade to grade, across campuses and between school districts. With such a system in place, every teacher will be armed with information to more effectively meet their students’ needs.
Unfortunately, California’s K-12 data system (California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System, or CALPADS) is not yet sufficiently functional, nor does it link into other agency systems. Although California boasts Silicon Valley and prides itself on technical innovation, its education data system is lagging behind most other states in the nation. According to the Data Quality Campaign, California is behind 24 other states when it comes to implementing the critical baseline elements needed in a longitudinal data system. When it comes to building a system that allows people to effectively use data, the state has taken only two of 10 recommended actions, placing California behind 40 other states.
While momentum toward a statewide longitudinal education data system has been building over the last decade, technical snags, the state’s budget crisis, and shortsighted decisions have slowed the pace of progress. Despite the current economic climate, California must not delay completing the system and making the best use of the data it collects.
Our Recommendations:
1. Continue Building CALPADS. California must continue to fund, develop, and implement the state’s student and teacher data systems (CALPADS and CALTIDES) so that educators and policymakers have access to the data needed to make informed decisions. This includes affirming the California Department of Education (CDE) as the CALPADS management entity so that data reporting continues and ongoing development stays on track.
2. Use Data to Inform Decision Making. California needs to expand the use of data to inform decisions at the school, district, and state levels. By building interactive, dynamic query tools and reports—and offering accompanying professional development—
educators can access the data needed to make decisions on behalf of students. In building these solutions, we recommend reviewing the promising practices from California districts and other states—many of whom have built best-in-class systems for putting actionable data into the hands of educators and decision-makers.
3. Build Preschool through College Data Linkages. State agencies should be encouraged to link and use data beyond K-12, from preschool through college, and across sectors such as workforce and social services. The effective exchange of data between agencies can ensure that students are supported from preschool to college, and that students with special needs and students receiving social services are supported by adults who can make well-informed decisions on their behalf. The SB 1298 Working Group
report can be used as a starting point for resolving issues of governance and data sharing across state agencies so that data is linked and exchanged properly and expeditiously.
4. Ensure Data Quality. The state can enhance the reliability and accuracy of CALPADS data by providing districts with ongoing resources and guidance to support local data management practices, so that data is reliably collected, maintained, and reported. Further, the state needs to ensure that districts are incentivized to provide accurate data to the state, and held accountable for doing so. Until districts have incentives to provide accurate data, and until they get something back from the state in exchange for reporting, data quality will flounder and decision-making on behalf of students will suffer.
To learn more about this important issue, click here.
