June 26, 2012

P-20 Data Analysis Establishes True College and Career Ready Students

Jun. 26, 2012 at 12:56 PM | By Todd Bloom | Comment Count

Access, retention, degree completion and accountability have emerged as dominant policy directions for higher education, and addressing these issues requires stakeholders to have comprehensive information on individual students and system performance. As with P-12, higher education is using statewide data systems for accountability reporting and for communicating with policymakers and the public.

Connecting K-12 and higher education data is imperative for establishing true college and career ready students.

P-20 data analysis involves the collection, sharing and use of student performance information throughout the entire P-20 education system.

Current data gives a snapshot of how an individual or group of students is performing now.
Retrospective data allows for tracking and analyzing performance of a student or group of students over time.
Predictive data can forecast individual or group outcomes based on past and current performance (for example, can be used to flag students at risk for dropping out).

In addition to educators, students need as much information as possible to make informed decisions, particularly given the proliferation of postsecondary choices. With outcomes data more readily available, students and their families have more information with which to assess possible returns on their investments. New tools like the federally mandated net price calculator provide some financial data, but students also need information on quality to assess their best options. Depending on which data states choose to collect and make public, prospective students can learn about outcomes such as average time spent to earn a degree, completion rates and employment placement.

Policymakers also benefit from access to outcomes data that tracks students throughout the education pipeline. Beyond having better information with which to assess policies and expenditures, policymakers gain an improved understanding of the interrelationships of P-12 and higher education. They, too, can reverse engineer polices which have produced outcomes in alignment with strategic goals.

In order for P-20 data systems to maximize benefits for students, educators and policymakers, states also need a framework for communicating with stakeholders. These stakeholders not only need access to the data, they need support to analyze the information and use that knowledge to improve student achievement.