DOCUMENT RESUME TM 027 662 ED 410 312 The Core Data Task Force Report: The National Education TITLE Statistics Agenda Committee, National Forum on Education Statistics. National Forum on Education Statistics. INSTITUTION NCES-97-947 REPORT NO 97 PUB DATE 69p. NOTE Evaluative (142) Reports PUB TYPE MF01/PC03 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE *Criteria; Data Collection; Educational Research; Elementary DESCRIPTORS Secondary Education; Government Role; *Information Dissemination; National Surveys; *Reliability; Selection; State Programs; *Validity *Data Elements; *Educational Indicators; National Center for IDENTIFIERS Education Statistics ABSTRACT In 1994 the National Education Statistics Agenda Committee (NESAC) of the National Forum on Education Statistics, National Center for identify Education Statistics (NCES), established the Core Data Task Force to reporting of data and define a set of "core elements" for the collection and This about enduring and emerging issues at local, state, and federal levels. phase of its document serves as the Task Force's report to NESAC on the first identify the activity, including the process undertaken by the Task Force to basic data elements described in the Task Force's first report, "Basic Data Elements for Elementary and Secondary Education Information Systems," some document, and areas not addressed in the "Basic Data Elements" recommendations for future action. The Task Force began with educational and then indicators identified by the Council of Chief State School Officers indicators identified school finance and facilities as two areas for which for future attention, and were lacking. These areas, however, were reserved elements the original list was refined through a discussion of the data Indicators for needed for reporting and a review of indicators in other NCES. through which data elements are needed were then identified and screened criteria developed at the beginning of the process. These criteria are collected. The related to the timeliness, reliability, and validity of data document following areas not addressed in the original "Basic Data Elements" (2) level of data collection; (3) (1) sources of data; are briefly reviewed: (4) subjective data; and (5) feasibility of collecting measurable data; action at complexity of issues involved. Recommendations are made for future recommendations federal, Forum, state, and local levels. In general, these data elements. Five center on the dissemination and integration of these considered, key appendixes list indicator reports reviewed, the indicators (SLD) questions, and the basic data elements for student and staff reports. ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** The Core Data Task Force Report The National Education Statistics Agenda Committee National Forum on Education Statistics NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 0:ttce of Educational Research and Improvement TIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION EDU CENTER (ERIC) NATIONAL COOPERATIVE EDUCATION STATISTICS SYSTEM This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this NATIONAL FORUM ON EDUCATION STATISTICS document CIO not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. tiEST COPY AVAILABLE 2 The Core Data Task Force Report The National Education Statistics Agenda Committee National Forum on Education Statistics Prepared by the Core Data Task Force of the National Education Statistics Agenda Committee (NESAC), National Forum on Education Statistics under the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education 3 U.S. Department of Education Richard W. Riley Secretary Office of Educational Research and Improvement Ramon C. Cortines Acting Assistant Secretary National Center for Education Statistics Pascal D. Forgione, Jr. Commissioner The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data related to education in the United States and other nations. It fulfills a congressional mandate to collect, collate, analyze, and report full and complete statistics on the condition of education in the United States; conduct and publish reports and specialized analyses of the meaning and significance of such statistics; assist state and local education agencies in improving their statistical systems; and review and report on education activities in foreign countries. NCES activities are designed to address high priority education data needs; provide consistent, reliable, complete, and accurate indicators of education status and trends; and report timely, useful, and high quality data to the U.S. Department of Education, the Congress; the states, other education policymakers, practitioners, data users, and the general public. We strive to make our products available in a variety of formats and in language that is appropriate to a variety of audiences. You, as our customer, are the best judge of our success in communicating information effectively. If you have any comments or suggestions about this or any other NCES product or report, we would like to hear from you. Please direct your comments to: National Center for Education Statistics Office of Educational Research and Improvement U.S. Department of Education 555 New Jersey Avenue NW Washington, DC 20208-5574 June 1997 The NCES World Wide Web Home Page is http://www.ed.gov/NCES/ Suggested Citation U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. The Core Data Task Force Report, NCES 97-947, by the Core Data Task Force of the National Education Statistics Agenda Committee. Washington, DC: 1997. Contact: Carol Sue Fromboluti (202) 219-1672 Lee Hoffman (202) 219-1621 Table of Contents Background 1 Definition of "Core" 1 Identifying the Basic Data Elements 3 Activities Providing Input into Selection 3 Screening Criteria 5 Areas not Addressed in the Basic Data Elements 6 Issue 1. Sources of Data 6 Issue 2. Level of Data Collection 7 Issue 3. Feasibility of Collecting Measurable Data 8 Issue 4. Subjective Data 9 Issue 5. Complexity of Issues Involved 9 Table* List of Indicators Not Addressed in the Basic Data Elements Table 1 11 Recommendations for Future Actions 15 At the Federal Level 15 At the Forum Level 16 At the State and Local Levels 16 Appendices Appendix A List of National and State Indicator Reports A-1 Appendix B List of 74 Indicators Identified by the Task Force from National and State Indicator Reports B-1 Appendix C List of Key Questions, Indicators, and Constituent StudentStaff Data Elements C-1 Appendix D Basic Data Elements for Student Information Systems D-1 Appendix E Basic Data Elements for Staff Information Systems E- 1 iii 5 Background In 1994, the National Education Statistics Agenda Committee (NESAC) of the National Forum on Education Statistics established the Core Data Task Force to identify and define a set of "core elements" for the collection and reporting of data about enduring and emerging issues at the local, state, and federal levels. The Core Data Task Force consisted of the following persons who served for one or more years: Thomas Soltys (Delaware), Chair from April 1994 to April 1995; Dori Nielson (Montana), Chair beginning in May 1995; Ken Adler (Wisconsin); Matthew Cohen (Ohio); Lynn Cornett (Southern Regional Education Board); Lavan Dukes (Florida); Gary Far land (Minnesota); Hal Robins (Utah); Ed Sloat (Arizona); and Judith Thompson (Connecticut). Participating from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) were Carol Sue Fromboluti, Lee Hoffman, and Mary Rollefson. Barbara Clements, Carol Lam, and Tom Szuba of the Council of Chief State School Officers's (CCSSO) National Elementary/Secondary Education Data and Information System Project began providing staff support to the group in October 1994. Definition of "Core" The Task Force held its first meeting in April 1994. At the first meeting, the Task Force adopted the following "Definition of Core." Core data consist of a body of fundamental data elements that are essential to the operation, management, and improvement of local, state, and federal education systems, including the development of education policy at all levels. A system of core data must provide: information for the ongoing administrative and evaluative activities of the education system at all levels; key status and progress indicators concerning stated policy goals; and indicators that inform on the enduring education issues of our time. It specifies priorities for data development and allocation of resources including building the capacity of states and localities to collect and report data. Included are the domains of education resources, student and community background and demographics, school processes, and student outcomes. The core criteria are responsive to the policy questions as determined by the Forum, including those specified in the NESAC guide in each of the above domains. In addition, the Task Force drafted a set of criteria for identifying basic data elements. Over the next two years, the Task Force met 10 times. One of the activities at the earlier meetings was the development of a plan for identifying the "core" data elements. This process, described in more detail in the next section, was the foundation for the development of a generic process that state and local education agencies could use for identifying essential data elements for their data systems. 1 6 Regular updates on the Task Force's progress were made to NESAC at the Forum meetings twice a year. At the end of the first phase of its work, the Task Force produced two documentsBasic,Data Elements for Elementary and Secondary Education Information Systems' and Report of the Core Data Task Force (this document). The first document, titled Basic Data Elements for Elementary and Secondary Education Information Systems, serves as a guide for state and local school systems in selecting basic data elements that logically comprise an information system. It contains an Executive Summary, a description of a process for selecting basic data elements, the recommended set of Basic Data Elements for student and staff information systems with definitions, and a description of activities that can be used by state education agencies to implement the basic data elements. This document, titled Report of the Core Data Task Force, serves as the Task Force's report to NESAC on the first phase of its activity, including: the actual process undertaken by the Task Force to identify the Basic Data Elements; areas not addressed in the Basic Data Elements; and recommendations for future actions. primarily because it was core data, 'An ongoing concern of the Core Data Task Force was the use of the term similar to the name of an NCES data collection activity, the Common Core of Data (CCD). The Task Force wanted to eliminate any confusion between the data set on which it was working and the contents of the CCD. As a result, the Task Force adopted the phrase Basic Data Elements. 2 Identifying the Basic Data Elements For the first phase of its work, the Core Data Task Force limited its job to the identification of data that could be maintained in an administrative records system. The focus was on data that logically would be kept in individual student or staff records at the school or school district level, and that could be aggregated to higher levels of the education system. The Task Force referred to the NESAC report, A Guide to Improving the National Education Data System,' as a starting point for deciding what basic data elements are. The Guide categorized data into four domains: students and community background, school process, education resources, and student outcomes. Activities Providing Input into Selection Four activities provided input to the Task Force on the selection of basic data elements: identification of indicators used to report the condition of education by various organizations and agencies; identification of federal and state reporting requirements; identification of data elements needed in an information system by decision makers and managers; and identification of key questions about the success and functioning of the schools, followed by selection of indicators that provide at least partial answers to those questions. First, CCSSO staff created an inventory of education indicators appearing in national and state indicator reports on the condition of education. (Appendix A provides a list of these indicator reports.) The inventory gave the Task Force an overview of what many organizations consider to be important indicators, or key information needed for evaluating the quality of education systems. The original list contained approximately 500 indicators. This list was subsequently reduced to 74 indicators. (Appendix B contains a list of 74 indicators.) Duplicates The Task Force then and near matches were combined to form more generic indicators. reviewed those indicators and earmarked the ones for which data elements needed to compute the indicators probably would be available from school administrative records. In addition, in January 1995 the Forum sponsored a focus group of local school district data system managers to review the inventory and identify the indicators they considered important. Another focus group, sponsored by CCSSO, was held in March 1995 to bring in additional points of view. Once the final list of indicators was identified, staff listed the data elements that could be used to compile or calculate them. The Task Force identified two areas, school finance and facilities, for which indicators were absent from the inventory. CCSSO convened a focus group on indicators for finance and 1 National Cooperative Education Statistics System, A Guide to Improving the National Education Data System: A Report by the National Education Statistics Agenda Committee of the National Forum on Education Statistics. Washington: U. S. Department of Education, October 1990. 3 facilities in June 1995, and it became clear that these areas are so complex that only limited information could be recommended in the short term. A recommendation was made to NESAC that finance and facility data elements be pursued separately. (See Recommendations for Future Actions for detail.) Second, the Task Force discussed what data elements are needed for schools, districts, and-states to report to the federal government. The Task Force reviewed a list of required data elements in federal reports compiled by Glynn Ligon of Evaluation Software Publishing, Inc. Since many state reporting requirements derive from federally mandated reporting requirements, it was important to consider what data are required at the federal level and the extent to which the basic data elements could meet those mandated reporting needs. These data elements served since data requests from the as input into the decision-making process of the Task Force. But federal government change, the Task Force will continue additional review of federal reporting data elements. The third activity conducted by the Task Force was a review of the data elements included in the NCES student, staff, and financial accounting handbooks. Task Force members identified data elements from these sources that they thought were essential components of an administrative data system. Participants in the focus groups held in January and March 1995 be essential for day-to-day were also asked to identify which data elements they considered to administration of education systems. The final activity involved the selection of indicators for which data elements are needed. The Task Force identified essential questions about the quality and functioning of education systems, and the indicators that could be used to provide answers to the questions. CCSSO staff then recorded which data QUESTIONS elements would be needed to compute INDICATORS these indicators. Since one of the criteria 4. BASIC DATA ELEMENTS for selecting basic data elements is that data elements are consistently defined by a recognized body, CCSSO staff used the Student Data Handbook for Elementary, Secondary, and Early Childhood Education2 and the Staff Data Handbook for Elementary, Secondary, and Early Childhood Education3 as the source for what data elements should be used. The initial focus of the Task Force was broader and was expected to include indicators such as those for community and social conditions, and school administration and policies. Data elements needed to compute indicators such as employment while data rate of the community are not normally kept in school administrative record systems, by needed to compute indicators such as percentage of students taught by a noncertified teacher subject area are often not consistently kept in individual student or staff records. The Task Force 2 Student Data Handbook: Elementary, Secondary and Early Childhood Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC, 1994. 3 Staff Data Handbook: Elementary, Secondary and Early Childhood Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC, 1995. 4 therefore decided to limit its focus to indicators with constituent data elements that can normally be obtained from individual student or staff records with standard definitions. The list of questions, indicators and data elements selected by the Task Force is included in appendix C. (Questions and indicators that were identified by the Task Force but were not included as part of the set of Basic Data Elements are discussed in the next section Areas Not Addressed in the Set of Basic Data Elements.) Screening Criteria The Core Data Task Force then screened the basic data elements through criteria established at the beginning of this process. These selection criteria are: The data element should be collected on a regular and timely basis. The data 1. element should be one that is gathered and used on a regular basis. There is no efficiency in standardizing an element that reflects a one-time need or an unusual bit of information. In addition, the collection of this data element should occur at a time that is appropriate for the intended users. The data element should be reliable. The data should be 2. a consistent measure for every entity (such as individuals, schools, or districts) and from one time to another. 3. The data element should be valid. The data should measure what they purport to measure. A data element should reflect a logical and meaningful description of an entity, for example, an individual, a school, or school district, and it should not be easily subject to distortion. The data element should be quantifiable or measurable. The data to be 4. collected can be defined, listed, codified, or otherwise described in a consistent, readily interpretable manner. The data element has been consistently defined by a recognized body. The 5. data element should have a standardized definition so that data can be collected in a reliable manner. This definition should be one that is available from a legitimate professional source and is generally accepted by the field as appropriate. The data elements together provide for valid measures of desired indicators. 6. Desired indicators include measures of student or institutional performance, equity, and efficiency. (Appendices D and E contain lists of basic student and staff data elements.) The draft set of Basic Data Elements on students and staff was presented to NESAC for preliminary approval at the January 1997 Forum meeting. Further review and a field test will be conducted, and the final report will be submitted to the Forum for endorsement in Summer 1997. Other topic areas will be pursued by the Task Force in the future. 5 10