Basic Features—Student data

Accurate information on individual students such as enrollment, attendance, demographics, program participation, and performance are critical components of an LDS. These data make it possible to understand the characteristics of student populations; and to follow students as they move through the education system, from grade to grade and school to school. Accurate data on students allow system users, such as policymakers and educators, to evaluate the impact of programs and other educational inputs (teachers, textbooks, curricula, etc.) on student achievement and outcomes, as well as the other factors that may affect learning (student mobility, English language learners, poverty, etc.). (DQC 2009)

Student-level college readiness test scores

"To ensure that students make a successful transition from high school to postsecondary education, it is important for (agencies) to collect and report student performance data on college admissions, placement, and readiness tests. Student scores on SAT, SAT II, ACT, Advanced Placement (AP), and International Baccalaureate (IB) exams are important indicators of students' college readiness; (agencies) should collect and report these data on an annual basis. With student-level college readiness test scores (added to longitudinal student records), policymakers and educators will know:

• how participation rates and scores on SAT, ACT, AP, and IB exams change over time for low-income and minority students;
• the percentage of students who meet the proficiency standard on the state eighth grade test who also take AP or IB courses in high school and pass the corresponding AP or IB exams; and
• the percentage of low-income students who meet the proficiency standard on the state high school test who take the SAT and ACT exams and score at college readiness benchmark levels on those exams." (DQC 2009)

Information on untested students

Education agencies "need to go further than tracking students who do not take the test to find out why they are not tested, and then match those records to separate enrollment and program participation databases. This makes it possible to identify patterns associated with specific student populations (e.g., special education students or English language learners) and ensure that all students are held to high expectations. With information on untested students, policymakers and educators will know:

• which students were not tested by grade and subject and why;
• trends over time in the number and percentage of untested students from each student group (English language learners, special education students, different ethnic groups, etc.);
• whether or not particular schools and districts have excessive absences on test day or questionable patterns of absences and exemptions across years (these measures can be used in a state's data audit system to ensure data quality)." (DQC 2009); and
• whether the same students are excluded from testing over time, and why.

Student-level transcript and other detailed course-taking information

An LDS should include data commonly found on student transcripts, as well as other more detailed course-taking and outcome information. This should include current course enrollment and courses taken, grades, and credits earned; and may also include information that allows the student data to be linked with teachers, such as course sections or instructor information. These data can inform research, program evaluation, and decisionmaking. They also create student-level transcripts that accompany students as they move through the education system.

"With student-level transcript information, policymakers and educators will know:

• the number and percentage of students who are enrolling in, and completing, rigorous courses in high school, disaggregated by ethnicity and income status;
• the middle schools that are doing the best job of preparing students for rigorous courses in high school;
• whether or not students in more rigorous courses in high school have been more successful in college or in the workplace; and
• whether or not there is evidence of grade inflation (e.g., students with the same test scores receive dramatically higher grades in the same course in certain schools or districts)." (DQC 2009)

This same data collection and analysis will also provide insight into course and program effectiveness at the district level.

Student-level graduation and dropout data

"A majority of states currently collect annual records on individual graduates and dropouts, but to calculate the graduation rates defined in the National Governors Association (NGA) compact, (state or local agencies) need to be able to track individual students over time. The calculation of accurate graduation rates also requires the ability to accurately account for what happens to students who leave public education. For example, (agencies) must be able to distinguish correctly between departing students who drop out or get a GED (General Education Development) from students who transfer to another school. With good graduation and dropout data in place and the ability to match records to other databases, policymakers and educators will know:

• when and why students leave the state's public education system;
• the percentage of first-time ninth graders in a given year who graduate from high school within four, five, or six years;
• the schools and school systems that are doing the best job reducing the dropout rate; and
• the characteristics of high school dropouts and whether or not there are early warning signs that schools can look for in elementary and middle school." (DQC 2009)

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