1. State Student Achievement Longitudinal Files: Where We’ve Come From and Where We’re Going Laura LoGerfo Tate Gould February 8, 2008

2. IES/NCES Elementary/Secondary School Studies and Data Tools HSLS:09 (begins Fall 2009) State Longitudinal Data System http://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds

3. HSLS:09 Begins in Fall 2009 800 high schools 20,000 9 TH graders Students, parents, school administrators, teachers, and school counselors will be surveyed Assessments in Math Follow-ups in 2012, 2015 ……

4. Objectives of HSLS:09 To understand students’ trajectories from the beginning of high school to postsecondary education or the workplace and beyond. To understand how students plan and make decisions about postsecondary options To understand what factors influence students’ decisions about taking STEM courses and pursuing postsecondary options To develop links with administrative data

5. Student Survey Content Areas Information for future follow-ups (e.g., locating information) Math and science coursework School experiences and activities Plans for the future Postsecondary decision-making Family background Attitudes and beliefs

6. Planned Follow-ups 1 st follow-up – Spring of 11 th grade College status update – Summer after senior year High school transcripts – Courses, teachers, grades 2 nd follow-up – Spring two years after date of high school graduation

7. First Follow-up Survey Most students will be in 11 th Grade Dropouts followed with certainty Math assessment High school transcripts Parents, teachers, school administrators Focused discussion of postsecondary planning, including financial aid

8. Second Follow-Up Survey Respondents will be two years out of high school Access and persistence issues Participation in STEM-related education and workplace pursuits Readiness issues – Who does not go to college?

9. Availability Of Data Fall of 2010 – HSLS:09 data as ECBs and DASs Descriptive summary report on 9 th graders

10. Possible Lessons to Learn From NCES’ National Longitudinal Studies Combining administrative data with survey data Working across State lines Following students over time Protecting data against disclosure

11. Legislative Background Authorized in 2002 by the Education Sciences Reform Act and the Educational Technical Assistance Act The grants are cooperative agreements – a form of grant in which the federal government has a more active involvement than in typical grants. 3-year awards of $1.5 to $6 million per State November 2005: 14 SEAs awarded over $52 million June 2007: 13 SEAs awarded over $62 million SLDS Grants Program

12. Eligibility Eligible applicants: the principal education agencies of: the 50 States the District of Columbia the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico the United States Virgin Islands American Samoa Guam the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

13. Grant Awardees FY 2007 Arizona Colorado District of Columbia Indiana Kansas Maine Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire North Carolina Oregon Utah Virginia FY 2006 Alaska Arkansas California Connecticut Florida Kentucky Maryland Michigan Minnesota Pennsylvania Ohio South Carolina Tennessee Wisconsin

14. The Goal of the Grant Program The overarching, long-term goal of this program is to increase states' capacity to conduct meaningful analyses and research that will guide decision-making and result in improved instruction and learning of all students. An additional goal of this program is to leverage the work supported with grant funds to facilitate the development and use of longitudinal data systems by other State and local education agencies. This will be achieved, in part, by disseminating lessons learned and non-propriety products/solutions developed by recipients of these grants.

15. Successful Strategies for Developing SLDS Lessons Learned Necessary components of SLDS projects that are emerging from the most successful projects: Well organized governance structure to manage data ownership, decisions, and communications Formalized structures for working closely with LEAs and other stakeholders on designing, testing, and using SLDS and its portals Effective communications about the project to stakeholders High quality SEA IT staff working closely with state program offices

16. Interstate Data Compatibility and Linking to Postsecondary and Labor Data Rising interest among states to figure out how to build data structures for seamless transfers of student records across state lines Debate about the necessity for storing SSNs to allow for effective e-Transcripts and reliable connections to post-secondary and labor data Difficulties of securing data exchange agreements especially across state lines

21. Questions?