Forum Annual Report 2005-06

National Cooperative Education Statistics System
National Forum on Education Statistics

Summary
2005-2006

Officers

Chairperson: Bill Smith, Sioux Falls School District, South Dakota
Vice-Chair: Derrick Lindsay, Mississippi Department of Education
Past Chair: Blair Loudat, North Clackamas Schools, Oregon

Standing Committees

National Education Statistics Agenda Committee (NESAC)
Chair: David Uhlig, Charlottesville City Public Schools, Virginia
Vice-Chair: Sonya Edwards, California Department of Education
Policies, Programs and Implementation (PPI)
Chair: Susan VanGorden, Lakota Local School District, Ohio
Vice-Chair: Robert Beecham, Nebraska Department of Education
Technology (TECH)
Chair: Bertha Doar, Rockwood School District, Missouri
Vice-Chair: Jeff Stowe, Arizona Department of Education

Completed Task Forces & Publications

Accounting for Every Student: A Taxonomy for Standard Student Exit Codes (2006)
Purpose: This resource presents an exhaustive and mutually exclusive exit code taxonomy that accounts, at any single point in time, for all students enrolled (or previously enrolled) in a school or district.

Wesley Bruce, Chair, Indiana Department of Education
Roth Aymond, Louisiana Department of Education
Christopher Chapman, National Center for Education Statistics
Robert Curtin, Massachusetts Department of Education
Roberta Garrison-Mogren, Westat
Martha Haynes, Florida Department of Education
Judith Holt, U.S. Department of Education
Steven King, Wyoming Department of Education
Bunny Mack, South Carolina Department of Education
Craig Neuenswander, Unified School District 257, Kansas
Deborah Newby, Council of Chief State School Officers
Mary Pat Olsen, Minnesota Department of Education
Madalyn Quinlan, Montana Office of Public Instruction
Gerard Rainville, Education Statistics Services Institute
Celia Sims, U.S. Department of Education
Consultant: Tolani Adeboye, Council of Chief State School Officers
Project Officer: Lee Hoffman, National Center for Education Statistics

Forum Guide to Elementary/Secondary Virtual Education (2006)
Purpose: This document offers recommendations for collecting accurate, comparable, and useful data about virtual education in an elementary/secondary education setting.

Derrick Lindsay, Co-Chair, Mississippi Department of Education
Blair Loudat, Co-Chair, North Clackamas Schools, Oregon
Larry Fruth, Schools Interoperability Framework Association
Elizabeth Glowa, Maryland State Department of Education
Marilyn Grunewald, Franklin Central Supervisory Union, Vermont
Myrna Holgate, Idaho Department of Education
Brad James, Vermont Department of Education
John Kennedy, Maine Department of Education
Mike Matukaitis, Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit, Pennsylvania
Stephen Sanders, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Steve Smith, Waterville Public Schools, Maine
Mary Ann Wolf, State Education Technology Directors Association
Consultant: Tom Szuba, Quality Information Partners
Project Officer: Ghedam Bairu, National Center for Education Statistics

Forum Guide to the Privacy of Student Information: A Resource for Schools (2006)
Purpose: This resource is intended to help school and local education agency staff better understand and apply the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal law that protects the privacy interests of parents and students in student education records.

Levette Williams, Chair, Georgia Department of Education
Eva Chunn, District of Columbia Public Schools
Bruce Dacey, Delaware Department of Education
Mary Kay DeGarmo, West Virginia Department of Education
Judy Fillion, New Hampshire Department of Education
Mary Gervase, Blaine County School District, Idaho
Angela Hagans, Georgia Department of Education
Wanda Jones, Georgia Department of Education
Polly Sorcan, Eveleth-Gilbert Public Schools, Minnesota
Consultant: Beth Young, Quality Information Partners
Project Officer: Ghedam Bairu, National Center for Education Statistics

Prototype Federal Education Collection Calendar (2006)
Purpose: This resource is a prototype of a federal education data collection calendar.

Bruce Dacey, Delaware Department of Education
Marilyn Grunewald, Franklin Central Supervisory Union, Vermont
Beth Juillerat, Ohio Department of Education
Kim Koran, Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Department of Education
Derrick Lindsay, Mississippi Department of Education
Blair Loudat, North Clackamas Schools, Oregon
Consultant: Beth Young, Quality Information Partners
Project Officer: Ghedam Bairu, National Center for Education Statistics

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Completed Action Plan Items

Forum members engaged in an in-depth strategic planning session at the Summer 2005 Forum Meeting. The results of this session were translated into an Action Plan for each Standing Committee, which worked to address these items throughout the 2005-2006 year.

• Federal Register Training (NESAC) – Increase awareness of the Federal Register and the Office of Management of Budget (OMB) approval process for proposed data collections, and develop a resource for Forum members concerning how to access the Federal Registry and offer feedback on postings.  These resources are available on the Forum Federal Register page.
• Forum Member Affiliation (NESAC) – Collect information about the local, state, and national organizations that Forum members are associated with in order to assess possible Forum outreach opportunities. Results are available in an Excel file.
• Electronic Forum Signature (NESAC) – Encourage Forum members to include a reference about their Forum membership in their e-mail signature. The electronic signature was developed and is available for Forum member use.
• FERPA Toolkit (PPI) – Adapt existing FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) guidance and Forum privacy publications for state and local education agency use.  This new publication is available at http://nces.ed.gov/forum/pub_2006805.asp.
• Data Cycle (PPI and TECH) – Develop a prototype of a federal education collection calendar and explore natural ways for local, state, and federal agencies to better collaborate. The prototype was submitted at Summer 2006 Forum Meeting.
• Forum Toolkit (TECH) – Enhance the repository of tools for sharing news about the Forum and model the use of these materials for other Forum members. These resources were posted for the Summer 2006 Forum Meeting.
• WebBoard/Listserv Instructions (TECH) – Revise the instructions for using the Forum’s LISTSERV and WebBoard. Training was provided at Winter 2006 Forum Meeting.
• Communications Subcommittee (Steering Committee) – Improve the ways the Forum communicates with its members, potential partners organizations, and other audiences.

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2005-06 Task Forces/Working Groups

Education Finance Data Elements Task Force:
Purpose: To identify and describe a set of formulas and calculations, data elements, and definitions that can be used as financial indicators for school districts and school systems.

Linda Champion, Chair, Florida Department of Education
James Christman, Pittsburg State University
Matthew Cohen, Ohio Department of Education
Lavan Dukes, Florida Department of Education
Dori Nielson, Education Consultant
Catherine Sielke, University of Georgia
Consultant: Steven Honegger, American Institutes for Research
Project Officer: Frank Johnson, National Center for Education Statistics

Data Quality Curriculum Task Force:
Purpose: To develop a professional development curriculum about improving data quality for local education staff.

Bruce Dacey, Delaware Department of Education
Ronald Danforth, New York State Education Department
Mary Gervase, Blaine County School District, Idaho
Kenneth Gu, Rhode Island Department of Education
Roy Herrold, Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit, Pennsylvania
John Kennedy, Maine Department of Education
Blair Loudat, North Clackamas Schools, Oregon
Judy Newman, Sumter County School District Two, South Carolina
Lee Tack, Iowa Department of Education
Susan VanGorden, Lakota Local School District, Ohio
Levette Williams, Georgia Department of Education
Consultant: Michael Derman, Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit, Pennsylvania
Consultant: Kathleen Hummel, Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit, Pennsylvania
Project Officer: Ghedam Bairu, National Center for Education Statistics

Decision Support System Literacy Task Force:
Purpose: To develop a resource for the education community that identifies and describes the basic components and features of decision support systems.

Tom Ogle, Co-Chair, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Raymond Yeagley, Co-Chair, Rochester School Department, New Hampshire
Bertha Doar, Rockwood School District, Missouri
Bethann Canada, Virginia Department of Education
Patricia Eiland, Alabama State Department of Education
Tom Purwin, Jersey City Public Schools, New Jersey
Lee Rabbitt, Bristol Warren Regional School District, Rhode Island

Communications Subcommittee (anticipated completion: February 2007)
Purpose: To improve the ways the Forum communicates with its members, potential partners organizations, and other audiences.

Roger Young, Chair, Manchester Essex Regional School District, Massachusetts
Glenn McClain, Platte Valley School District, Colorado
Tom Ogle, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Madalyn Quinlan, Montana Office of Public Instruction
Raymond Yeagley, Northwest Evaluation Association
Consultant: Tom Szuba, Quality Information Partners
Project Officer: Ghedam Bairu, National Center for Education Statistics

PK-12 Data Model Working Group (anticipated completion: July 2008)
Purpose: To explore the development of a comprehensive school district data model. Jeff Stowe (Arizona Department of Education) and Glenn McClain (Platte Valley Schools, Colorado) will co-chair this group and finalize the list of members at the Summer 2006 Forum Meeting.

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Special Task Order Awards 2006

The purpose of the Fiscal Year 2006 NCES State Cooperative System Task Order Awards is to improve federal-state cooperation in data collection, processing, and analysis by: (1) developing and implementing student identification systems in support of statewide information systems; (2) improving a State's ability to track and verify dropouts and transfers; (3) improving data quality assurance procedures at the State or local level; and (4) coordinating technical assistance or training for local education agencies in order to facilitate the adoption of state data collection and reporting systems.

Four states received FY 2006 awards:

Iowa Department of Education:
Project EASIER Data Quality and Collection Expansion Training Workshops

This task order will fund two detailed training/workshops for school district/area education agency (AEA) staff in Iowa.  These personnel will be trained to improve the quality and accuracy of data submitted through the Project EASIER collection and other Iowa Department of Education’s data collections.

Kansas State Department of Education:
Increasing Capacity For Building A High Quality State Data System 

This task order is intended to improve data quality at KSDE by: (1) offering districts and schools a basic student information system that will meet state and many local reporting needs; and (2) improving technical assistance and training available to LEA and private school staff.

Oklahoma State Department of Education:
XML and Web Services Project for LEA Data Submission

This task order will support training and technical assistance for IT staff at the Oklahoma State Department of Education to become proficient in the use of XML and the development of secure web services prior to replacing existing flat-file data collection systems in the state.

Rhode Island Department of Education:
Building an Education Portal for Rhode Island

This task order will support the development of an education portal for the Rhode Island State Department of Education (RIDE) in order to facilitate information exchange and support the State’s strategic goal of enhancing local capacity to improve teaching and learning and sustain an effective accountability system.

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Web Activities

Activity on the Forum website continued to increase during the 2005-2006 year.  Between July 2005 and June 2006, the Forum webpage had 98,417 page views and Forum publications were downloaded (as PDF files) or viewed (as publication web pages) 77,540 times.

Member Activities

• The Forum welcomed the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) as a new associate member. NWEA is a non-profit organization that provides products and services (including accurate assessments, timely reporting, and data-tools that make practical use of test results) to measure and promote student academic growth and school improvement.
• The Forum welcomed the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) as a new associate member. SREB was established to provide services to its 16 member states in order to create ways to share resources and achieve educational improvement that would be impossible or financially impractical separately.
• The Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO), an associate member of the Forum, announced that it had established a “Facilities Masters Award Program” based on the best practices identified in the Planning Guide for Maintaining School Facilities, a 2003 publication developed jointly by the Forum and ASBO.  The award program recognizes school districts across the nation that have exhibited exemplary facilities maintenance practices.

Meetings

• Summer 2005 Meeting: July 25-27, 2005 in Washington, DC.
• Winter 2006 Meeting: February 20-21, 2006 in Orlando, Florida.
• Summer 2006 Meeting: July 24-26, 2006 in Washington, DC.

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Publications of the National Forum on Education Statistics do not undergo the formal review required for products of the National Center for Education Statistics. The information and opinions published here are the product of the National Forum on Education Statistics and do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the U.S. Department of Education or the National Center for Education Statistics.