National Forum on Education Statistics - Forum Annual Report 2012-13

Forum Annual Report 2012-13

National Cooperative Education Statistics System
National Forum on Education Statistics

Summary
2012–13

Officers

Chairperson: Tom Ogle, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Vice-Chair: Lee Rabbitt, Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Past Chair: David Weinberger, Yonkers Public Schools (NY)

Standing Committees

National Education Statistics Agenda Committee (NESAC)
Chair: Raymond Martin, Connecticut State Department of Education
Vice-Chair: Allen Miedema, Northshore School District (WA)

Policies, Programs and Implementation Committee (PPI)
Chair: Sonya Edwards, California Department of Education
Vice-Chair: John Metcalfe, Fremont County School District #1 (WY)

Technology Committee (TECH)
Chair: Laurel Krsek, Napa Valley Unified School District (CA)
Vice-Chair: Jay Pennington, Iowa Department of Education

Completed Task Forces & Publications

Forum Guide to Supporting Data Access for Researchers: A State Education Agency Perspective
Purpose: This guide recommends policies, practices, and templates that can be adopted and adapted by state education agencies (SEAs) as they consider how to most effectively respond to requests for data about the education enterprise, including data maintained in longitudinal data systems. These recommendations reflect sound principles for managing the flow of data requests, establishing response priorities, monitoring appropriate use, protecting privacy, and ensuring that research efforts are beneficial to the education agency as well as the research community. The document has been converted to both an EPUB http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2012/2012809.epub and MOBI http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2012/2012809.mobi file. While MOBI files can be read on Kindle devices, EPUB files can be read on Nooks, smartphones, and tablets. To download either file, please click the link above or visit the Forum Publications http://nces.ed.gov/forum/publications.asp section of the website.

Kathy Gosa (Chair), Kansas State Department of Education
Bruce Dacey, Delaware Department of Education
Tom Howell, Michigan Center for Educational Performance and Information
Tom Ogle, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Jay Pennington, Iowa Department of Education
Brian Snow, Maine State Department of Education
Pat Sullivan, Texas Education Agency
Peter Tamayo, State of Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
Levette Williams, Georgia Department of Education
Consultant: Tom Szuba, Quality Information Partners
Consultant: Jay Pfeiffer, MPR Associates
Project Officer: Ghedam Bairu, National Center for Education Statistics
Project Officer Ruth Neild, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance

Forum Guide to Taking Action with Education Data
Purpose: This guide provides stakeholders with practical information about the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to more effectively access, interpret, and use education data to inform action. The document includes an overview of the evolving nature of data use, basic data use concepts, and a list of skills necessary for effectively using data. The Guide recommends a question-driven approach to data use, in which the following questions can help guide readers who need to use data to take action: What do I want to know? What data might be relevant? How will I access relevant data? What skills and tools do I need to analyze the data? What do the data tell me? What are my conclusions? What will I do? What effects did my actions have? and what are my next steps? The Briefs that accompany the Introduction are written for three key education audiences: Educators, School and District Leaders, and State Program Staff.

Kathy Gosa (Chair), Kansas State Department of Education
David Feliciano, Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools (GA)
Tom Howell, Michigan Center for Educational Performance and Information
Laurel Krsek, San Ramon Valley Unified School District (CA)
Al Larson, Meriden Board of Education (CT)
Allen Miedema, Northshore School District (WA)
Jay Pennington, Iowa Department of Education
Brian Snow, Maine State Department of Education
David Weinberger, Yonkers Public Schools (NY)
Consultant: Tom Szuba, Quality Information Partners
Project Officer: Ghedam Bairu, National Center for Education Statistics

Forum Guide to the Teacher-Student Data Link: A Technical Implementation Resource
Purpose: This guide supports local and state education agency staff in implementing the teacher-student data link (TSDL) and, as a result, in generating high-quality data for high-stakes decisionmaking. Informed by prior TSDL-related work, the guide introduces the TSDL and provides information on TSDL components, use cases, and strategies for overcoming implementation challenges, particularly at the local level.

Lee Rabbitt (Chair), Newport Public Schools (RI)
Sheri Ballman, Princeton City Schools (OH)
John Brandt, Utah Department of Education
Kathy Gosa, Kansas State Department of Education
Eli Pristoop, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Pat Sullivan, formerly of the Texas Education Agency
Christina Tydeman, Hawaii State Department of Education
Susan Williams, Virginia Department of Education
Christopher Woolard, Ohio Department of Education
Consultant: Jim Goodell, Quality Information Partners
Consultant: Abby Loughrey, Quality Information Partners
Project Officer: Ghedam Bairu, National Center for Education Statistics

Forum Guide to Supporting Data Access for Researchers: A Local Education Agency Perspective
Purpose: Local education agencies (LEAs) receive requests from researchers for access to data about students and staff (for research) but often do not have the capacity to field, support, and monitor these requests. This working group revised the Forum Guide to Supporting Data Access for Researchers: A State Education Agency Perspective to include a set of core practices and operations for LEAs. This resulting companion guide, The Forum Guide to Supporting Data for Researchers: A Local Education Agency Perspective, is more relevant to LEAs, and includes information on supporting the collection of new data on students and staff.

Christina Tydeman (Chair), Hawaii State Department of Education
Sheri Ballman, Princeton City School District (OH)
Marilyn King, Bozeman School District #7 (MT)
Linda Rocks, Bossier Parish School System (LA)
Arleen Thompson, Boston Public Schools (MA)
David Weinberger, Yonkers Public Schools (NY)
Consultant: Abby Loughrey, Quality Information Partners
Consultant: Tom Szuba, Quality Information Partners
Project Officer: Ghedam Bairu, National Center for Education Statistics

2012-13 Working Groups

School Codes for the Exchange of Data (SCED) Working Group
Purpose: Education agencies are increasingly tracking student progress and performance over time, including progression through school grades, movement between schools, and the transfer to postsecondary education and the workforce. Standardized course codes assist with maintaining longitudinal student records and tracking students through these transitions. In 2007, the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) published the Secondary School Course Classification System: School Codes for the Exchange of Data (SCED), which many state and local education agencies (SEAs and LEAs) have adopted as a standard for secondary course codes. This working group will review and update the 2007 SCED document.

Kathy Gosa (Chair), Kansas State Department of Education
Bruce Dacey, Delaware Department of Education
Marilyn King, Bozeman Public Schools (MT)
Rachel Kruse, Iowa Department of Education
Zachary Mangold, Maryland State Department of Education
John Metcalfe, Fremont County School District #1 (WY)
Allen Miedema, Northshore School District (WA)
Jan Rose Petro, Colorado Department of Education
Susan Williams, Virginia Department of Education
Beth Young, Quality Information Partners
Consultant: Kristina Dunman, Quality Information Partners
Consultant: Nicole Ifill, MPR Associates
Project Officer: Ghedam Bairu, National Center for Education Statistics

Alternative Socioeconomic Status (SES) Measures Working Group
Purpose: The potential loss of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s student-level National School Lunch Program (NSLP)-eligibility indicator is an important issue to state and local education agencies. The Alternative Socioeconomic Status (SES) Measures Working Group is tasked with identifying alternative measures of SES that meet the needs of the education community.

Matt Cohen (Chair), Ohio Department of Education
Chris Chapman, National Center for Education Statistics
Lily Clark, U.S. Department of Education
Sonya Edwards, California Department of Education
Francie Gilmore-Dunn, Mississippi Department of Education
Jim Harrington, Hillsboro School District (OR)
Michael Hawes, U.S. Department of Education
Mike Hopkins, Rochester School Department (NH)
Tom Howell, Michigan Center for Educational Performance and Information
Tom Ogle, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Jeff Owings, National Center for Education Statistics
Robert Rodosky, Jefferson County Public Schools (KY)
Ross Santy, U.S. Department of Education
Marilyn Seastrom, National Center for Education Statistics
Todd Stephenson, U.S. Department of Education
Marie Stetser, National Center for Education Statistics
Charlene Swanson, New York State Education Department
William Ward, National Center for Education Statistics
Consultant: Tom Szuba, Quality Information Partners
Project Officer: Ghedam Bairu, National Center for Education Statistics

Member Activities

The Forum welcomed a representative from REL—Southwest. RELs serve the educational needs of a designated region by providing access to high quality scientifically valid education research through applied research and development projects, studies, and other related technical assistance activities. Information on REL—Southwest is available at http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/southwest/index.asp.
The Forum welcomed a representative from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) as a Federal Member. The mission of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is to: "… enhance the quality of life, to promote economic opportunity, and to carry out the responsibility to protect and improve the trust assets of American Indians, Indian tribes, and Alaska Natives." Information on the BIA is available at http://www.bia.gov.
Forum members Peter Tamayo (Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction) and Christina Tydeman (Hawaii State Department of Education) participated in the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI) Summit in Washington, DC. Information on WHIAAPI is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/aapi.

Other Activities

The Forum develops online courses based on some of its best practice publications. Two such courses, Improving Education Data Part 1—Creating a Foundation, and Improving Education Data Part 2—Coordinating Quality Data, were transferred to the Forum website, where they are now available at http://nces.ed.gov/forum/dataqualitycourse/dataquality.asp. The courses are divided into a series of lessons that include multimedia presentations, notes, study guides, and additional readings. Each course concludes with an exam, and respondents who pass the exams with 80% accuracy receive Forum certificates.

Meetings

Summer 2012 Meeting: July 9-11, 2012 in Washington, DC
Winter 2013 Meeting: February 11-12, 2012 in Washington, DC