Traveling Through Time: The Forum Guide to Longitudinal Data Systems - Basic Features

Traveling Through Time: The Forum Guide to Longitudinal Data Systems
Book 1 of 4: What is an LDS?

NFES 2010-805
July 2010

Acknowledgments
Foreword
List of Tables
List of Figures
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. LDS Basics
Chapter 3. What Does an LDS Look Like? From Real to Ideal
- Basic Features
- Expanded Features
Chapter 4. Dispelling the Misconceptions: What an LDS is, and What it is Not
Chapter 5. LDS Benefits: Why Should We Build These Systems?
Appendix A—Overview of the LDS Guide Series
Appendix B— References
Appendix C—Additional References
Appendix D—Handout: Anatomy of an LDS
Appendix E—LDS in Legislation
Appendix F—Forum and Other NCES Resources
PDF & Related Info
Contact

Basic Features—Reporting and analysis tools

"Reporting and analysis tools (…) are essentially the software programs written to calculate the statistics that stakeholders need to evaluate the performance of a student, school, district, or state and produce reports (electronic or print) that answer stakeholder questions." (Steiny and Smith 2007) Without these tools to provide stakeholders with easy access to the data in both raw form and in standardized reports, reaping the full benefits of an LDS would be impossible. Many agencies build an LDS without investing in reporting and analysis tools, only to find that use of their new data is limited, seriously compromising the usefulness of the system.