Developing Coordinated
Longitudinal Early Childhood
Data Systems
October 16, 2012
Twitter Town Hall
Co-Hosts
 Child Trends, @childtrends
 Data Quality Campaign, @EdDataCampaign
 New America Foundation, @lisaguernsey
 Center for Law and Social Policy, @hnmatthews
Use the hashtag #ecdata to tweet questions and comments
Agenda
 Welcome and ECDC Overview
 Elizabeth Groginsky, Executive Director of the ECDC
 Report Overview and Findings
 Amanda Szekely, National Governor’s Association
Center for Best Practice, Co-author of the report
 State Highlights
 Illinois - Jon Furr, University of Illinois
 Massachusetts - Sherri Killins, Department of Early
Education and Care
 North Carolina - Anne Bryan and Kristen Guillory,
Early Childhood Advisory Council
 Question and Answer
Poll Question
Please select the role that best describes you
 Researcher
 State Administrator
 Policy maker
 Practitioner
 Business leader
 Other
The Early Childhood Data Collaborative (ECDC)
Mission
Promote policies and practices that support states’
development and use of early childhood data
systems.
Guiding Principles
 From compliance-driven to improvement-driven
data systems
 From fragmented data systems to coordinated data
systems
 From “snapshot” data to longitudinal data systems
ECDC Partners
Child Trends is the Hub
Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at UC
Berkeley
Council of Chief State School Officers
Data Quality Campaign
National Conference of State Legislatures
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices
Pre-K Now, a campaign of the Pew Center on the States
Supported by funding from the Birth to Five Policy Alliance
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10 Fundamentals
1.
2.
3.
4.
Unique statewide child identifier
Child-level demographics and program participation information
Child level data on development
Ability to link child level data with K-12 and other key data
systems
5. Unique program site identifier with the ability to link with
children and the ECE workforce
6. Program site structural and quality information
7. Unique ECE workforce identifier with ability to link with program
sites and children
8. Individual-level data on ECE workforce demographics,
education and professional development information
9. State governance body to manage data collection and use
10. Transparent privacy protection and security policies and
practices
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Report Overview
Developing Coordinated and Longitudinal Data
Systems: Trends and Opportunities in the Race to
the Top Early Learning Challenge Applications
(RTT-ELC)
 30 of 37 applicants addressed optional priority to build
or enhance an early learning data system
 Nine states (six of which addressed data systems
priority) won grants in 2011
 Five more states will receive grants in 2012, four of
which addressed data systems priority
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Trends in RTT-ELC Applications
 Making data accessible to improve and inform ECE
practice and policy;
 Linking existing ECE data systems;
 Filling ECE data gaps, including workforce and child
development data;
 Strengthening the connection between ECE data and
data from other systems; and
 Developing interagency data governance structures.
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Making Data Accessible
 States set goals to provide data to policymakers, ECE
providers, parents, etc.
 Proposed strategies include: web portals, dashboards,
scorecards, and reports tailored for different users.
 Pennsylvania proposed a “provider scorecard” to
compile data on individual ECE program sites,
including QRIS information, workforce qualifications,
child outcome information, etc.
 Minnesota proposed new early learning data portal
with dashboards and reports that meet the needs of
educators, administrators, and parents.
 States proposed to build users’ capacity to understand
and use data.
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Linking Existing Data Systems
 States proposing various approaches, including “data
warehouses” vs. “federated” systems;
 Proposed strategies to facilitate linkages:
 Identifiers to match records among datasets that
represent the same child, program site, or
provider/teacher;
 Common data standards to ensure that data fields
represent the same type of information when linking
databases; and
 Data-sharing agreements to develop formal documents
that define how data would be linked and used.
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Filling ECE Data Gaps
States proposing to fill two significant gaps identified
through ECDC 2011 state survey:
 Expanding data on the ECE workforce by strengthening
and expanding the reach of workforce registries.
 Collecting data on child development by capturing data
on developmental screenings, formative assessments,
and kindergarten entry assessments (KEA).
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Strengthening the Connection between ECE data
States propose to strengthen data linkages with:
 K-12 state longitudinal data systems
 Head Start
 Health and human services data
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Developing Interagency Governance Structures
Governance structures would set state policies to guide
data collection, access, and use. Strategies include:
 Developing new interagency data governance bodies;
 Leveraging existing SLDS governance structure;
 Establishing data governance body within Early
Childhood Advisory Council.
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Illinois: Strategies to link ECE data
 Jon Furr, Director of the Office of
Education System Innovation at Northern
Illinois University
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Overview
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Illinois SLDS Background
RTT-ELC Analytical Framework
Building bridges across EC systems
Future challenges
Illinois SLDS: Beginning Stages
 ISBE’s 2001 IT Strategic Plan:
 Statewide Student Information System (SIS)
 e-Grants management system
 Data warehouse
 SIS: Statewide deployment in 05-06

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Unique Student ID (not SSN)
Student enrollment data and program information
Student demographic information
State assessment data
Extended to State-funded PreK programs
P-20 Longitudinal Ed. Data System Act
 P.A. 96-0107, signed into law in July 2009
 Established the requirements and framework for the
development of the state’s longitudinal education data
system by:
 Setting forth a long-term vision for the state’s education
data system,
 Requiring the state to implement all of the DQC 10
essential elements,
 Requiring the longitudinal data system to support a broad
array of state and LEA educational functions,
 Establishing a framework for data sharing with outside
entities to support research and evaluation consistent with
privacy protection laws.
 Early learning data a priority; ISBE authorized to
collect necessary early learning data
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IES Grant #1: $9M; April 09
1. Development of an Enterprise-wide Data
Architecture
2. Improved Data Quality through Data
Stewardship
3. Development of an Education Enterprise
Data Warehouse
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IES Grant #2: $11M; Spring 10
 Expansion of Early Childhood Data
Collection Systems
 ISBE commences collecting data from infant
and toddler programs that are funded
through the Early Childhood Block Grant
(ECBG) into the state longitudinal data
system
 ISBE captures information on all of the
ECBG-funded programs in Illinois serving
children from birth to five
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RTT-ELC Analytical Framework
RTT-ELC Essential Data Elements
Categories
Children &
Families
Workforce
Program
Unique statewide child
identifier
Unique EC Educator
identifier
Unique program site
identifier
Child and family
demographic
information
EC Educator
Demographic
Information
Program-level data
Child-level program
participation and
attendance data
A tale of two cities…
Illinois State Board of
Education
Illinois Department of
Human Services
A tale of two cities…
Illinois State Board of
Education
Illinois Department of
Human Services
Workforce
 Establish Gateways to Opportunity
Registry as a comprehensive repository
 Rule changes to include more educators
 Web service integration with ISBE
certification data
Program
 Establish the Data Tracking Program as the
comprehensive provider database for QRIS
monitoring and supports
 Integration with DCFS licensure data
 Integration with ISBE preschool data
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Children and Families
Education
and
Workforce
Data
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ISBE
IDHS
Health
and
Human
Services
Data
Workforce Data Quality Initiative
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IDHS: Integrated Eligibility System
Childcare
IES
Early
Intervention
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Case
Management
Matching across WDQI and IES
Matching
procedures
Web service
extractions
Childcare
IES
Early
Intervention
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Case
management
LDS Governance
 P-20 LDS Act contemplates a federated
governance structure
 Linkages by Intergovernmental and Data
Sharing Agreements
 Need a governance structure that cuts across
workforce, education, and early childhood
data
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Making Data Accessible
My State built
an LDS and all
my teachers
got was this
stupid T-shirt
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Teacher Portal/
Instructional
Improvement System
Student Data
Learning Maps
Curriculum/
Assessment Tools
Lesson Plans
Professional
Development
Illinois Shared Learning Environment
(powered by the Shared Learning Collaborative: www.slcedu.org)
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Thank you!
Jonathan Furr
Director
Office of Education System Innovation
Northern Illinois University
jfurr@niu.edu
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Massachusetts: Data accessibility
 Sherri Killins, Commissioner of
Massachusetts Department of Early
Education and Care
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Background
 In 2005, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
became the first state in the nation to create one
agency to oversee early education and care and outof-school time programs for families.
 The Department of Early Education and Care (EEC)
was created by consolidating the former Office of
Child Care Services with the Department of
Education’s (now the Department of Elementary and
Secondary Education) Early Learning Services unit.
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Purpose of EEC’s Establishment
 EEC was established within the context of strong
evidence from brain development research showing
the long-term impact of high-quality early education
and its potential return on investment.
 The goal of the consolidation was to create a
single, unified, more efficient system of early
education and care in Massachusetts that is
better responsive to the educational and
developmental needs of children
and to the vital role of families in a child’s health,
development and success.
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Governance – EEC Board
Board of Early Education and Care
• 11 Members
• Meets 10 times/year (2nd Tuesday)
Board Members
o
o
Sec. of EOHSS JudyAnn Bigby, M.D. o
Joan Wasser Gish
o
Sharon Scott Chandler
o
Elizabeth Childs, M.D.
JD Chesloff, Chair
o Sec. of Education Paul Reville
o
o
o
o
Commissioner/
Board Secretary
•Sherri Killins
Eleonora Villegas-Reimers
Chi-Cheng Huang, M.D.
Cheryl Stanley
Mary Walachy
Carol Craig O’Brien
Advisory Groups
• EEC Advisory Team
• Parent Advisory Team
MA Education Governance Structure
Executive Office
of Education
Secretary of
Education
Paul Reville
Department of
Early Education
and Care
Department of
Elementary and
Secondary Education
Sherri Killins
Mitchell Chester
Department of
Higher Education
Richard Freeland
The Call for Collective Action
“As we contemplate the future of our Commonwealth, and the future of our
country and world, we must think differently and act more creatively about how
we create consistent excellence throughout public education. We must break
down the silos that characterize our approach to public education. Instead, we
must create a continuum of teaching and learning dedicated at every turn to the
academic and personal success of each individual student… (The Patrick
Administration Education Action Agenda) provides an action agenda for
establishing universal excellence over the next decade. Recognizing that no one
idea will transform the system, the agenda leverages the relationships within
the education sector and among all sectors of society. As we implement
these action items, my administration will continue its commitment to the
collaboration and cooperation that are the hallmarks of the Commonwealth
Readiness Project. Taken together, and with all stakeholders working
together, I am confident that we can deliver on a new 21st century promise of
high-quality public education for all Massachusetts residents.”
--READY FOR 21ST CENTURY SUCCESS: THE NEW PROMISE OF PUBLIC
EDUCATION;
The Patrick Administration Education Action Agenda, June 2008
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EEC Duties: Child/Educator Databases
Massachusetts General Law (MGL) Ch.15D:
(q) establish and regularly update: (1) a comprehensive database of
early childhood educators and providers, hereinafter referred to
as the educator database, for the purpose of enhancing the
workforce development system; and (2) a comprehensive
database of children both waiting for and receiving early
education and care services, in this chapter called the student
database, that is compatible with relevant databases at the
department of elementary and secondary education and the
executive office of health and human services; and
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Core Areas of Focus
 EEC is focused on strengthening the system of early
education and care in Massachusetts as a critical
element of the education pipeline from cradle to career.
 The child outcomes that we are trying to achieve
require investment in four critical areas:
 teacher quality,
 program quality,
 screening and assessment, and
 engagement of communities and families.
 The system EEC is building includes all children,
not just those who are subsidized or in formal care.
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Early Childhood Information System (ECIS)
Massachusetts has set out four broad uses for the ECIS data system:
Providing parents/families with information about early learning and development
programs available to them and giving them the information needed to support
their children development;

Providing programs and services with information about the children they
are serving and to improve individualized teaching and learning at the
classroom and program level through formative assessment;

Providing policy makers with information about the current use of early
learning and development programs, capable of disaggregation to a local level
and by different groupings of children (with a particular emphasis upon
children with high needs), in order to:

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identify service gaps and needs,

track trends in addressing those gaps and needs over time, and
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identify the combinations of best practices in engaging children in
services which show positive early childhood outcomes, that can be used
to inform further investment and systems improvement;
Provide an opportunity for state agencies to understand where children may
be served by multiple systems that would benefit from greater coordination
and integration.
ECIS: Scope
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The ECIS is an early learning data system that has been
collaboratively designed to provide information that will improve
instruction, practices, and services for early education programs,
educators, and families.
What information is collected in ECIS?
 Child and family demographic information
 Early Childhood Educator demographic information, including
data on educational attainment and State credential or licenses
held, as well as professional development information
 Program-level data on the program’s structure, quality, child
suspension and length of time in programs, rates, staff retention,
staff compensation, work environment, and all applicable data
reported as part of the State’s Tiered Quality Rating and
Improvement System
 Child-level program participation and attendance data
Early Childhood Information System (ECIS)
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ECIS will be used to improve the state’s ability to target
opportunities to support a child’s growth from birth to 5,
as well improve program and educator quality.
The Commonwealth’s Bold Vision: Core Elements of the Early
Childhood Information System
 Family Engagement
 Parental Consent
 Core Child Level Data
 Self- Assessment Data
 Child Development Screening and Assessment Data
 Collected through ASQ, EVT, PVT, Social and Emotional Test, WoodcockJohnson
 Interagency Data Sharing
 Interagency Service Agreements (ISAs)
 Key risk and protective factors
 Strength and Risk Analyses
 Pull and match child-level data from above data sources
 Report out on child-level critical strength and risk factors
 Communication
 General communication to all families on general child development advice
and guidance and information on community events and resources
 Families with high needs children receive targeted communications on state
agency resources and community supports
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Data from parents, screenings, assessment, and demographic data
will feed ECIS to generate valuable reports and information
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Parent/Child
Registration
Portal
CCFA
ASQ
1
Multi-dimensional Data
CCIMS
eCCIMS
LM
QRIS
ECIS
Data Warehouse
Departmental
Datamarts
Business Intelligence


Community and family outreach

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5
Dashboards
PQR
KEY
1
EEC data warehouse
2
Data loading process
3
Child data feeds
4
Reporting capabilities
5
Establish outreach
4
Self-Service
Data and Reports
Conceptual Structure of ECIS
Advancing the ECIS in Massachusetts
 EEC Data Warehouse Architected and Loaded COMPLETED
 Staffing COMPLETED
 Platform/Tool Selection and Training COMPLETED
 Legacy Systems Integration COMPLETED
 Initial Build of the EEC Data Warehouse COMPLETED





Cleansing/de-duplication IN PROGRESS
Loading of the EEC Data Warehouse IN PROGRESS
Initial Loading of the Data Marts IN PROGRESS
Validation/Testing IN PROGRESS
Requirements: Federal RTTT Reporting: IN PROGRESS
 Reporting: Development NOT STARTED
 Reporting: Agency and inter-agency reporting NOT STARTED
ONGOING
 Participation in LDS/P20 project
 Data collection consent discussions
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FY13 Budget Support for Data Sharing
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A data sharing pilot program between the department of early education and care, the
department of elementary and secondary education, the executive office of education, the
department of public health and the executive office of health and human services to assign
a state assigned student identifier to children participating in early intervention programs
with the goal of tracking and evaluating educational and developmental outcomes for
children receiving early intervention services, improving delivery of services and determining
cost savings associated with the early intervention program; provided, that any pilot program
shall be contingent upon informed consent from participating families…
The agencies must report by March 15, 2013 on:
 (i) the progress made on implementation of the pilot program, including but not limited
to, the criteria used for selecting sites and preliminary implementation plans for the
assignment of state assigned student identifiers to children receiving early intervention
services;
 (ii) a timetable for full implementation of the pilot program including resources needed
to meet the proposed timetable;
 (iii) a plan for obtaining informed consent from families receiving early intervention
services;
 (iv) the number of state assigned student identifiers that have been assigned to date, if
applicable; and
 (v) recommendations on how the department of public health and the agencies of the
executive office of education can rigorously evaluate the effect of early intervention
services on the future special education needs of program participants;
North Carolina: Governance structures
 Anne Bryan, Executive Director of the North
Carolina Early Childhood Advisory Council
 Kristen Guillory, North Carolina Early Learning
Challenge grant manager
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NC Early Childhood Advisory Council
 Established by Governor in 2010
 Broad representation of state and local agencies and
perspectives in serving young children and families
 Purpose: To create and sustain a shared vision for
young children and a comprehensive, integrated
system of high-quality health, family strengthening,
and early care and education services to achieve the
best possible outcomes for the state’s young children
 Lead agency for the Race to the Top - Early Learning
Challenge in North Carolina
Early Learning Challenge in NC
 Goal: Each and every child comes to kindergarten
ready for success in school and in life
 Four major focus areas:
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Strengthen the early childhood system
Enhance program quality and access
Strengthen the early childhood workforce
Target high-intensity support in a high-need Transformation
Zone
 $ 8.9 M of the $70 M grant allocated to the
development of the Early Childhood Integrated Data
System (ECIDS)
Vision for the Data System (ECIDS)
 A major system-building initiative to provide the
information needed to enhance services for
young children and improve outcomes
 Approach:
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
Create a data system that integrates data from
different agencies that serve young children to provide
timely and accurate information for system-wide
planning and efficient and effective implementation of
services
Promote shared accountability for outcomes among
early childhood programs and services
Elements of the ECIDS Design
 Oversight by the Early Childhood Advisory Council
 System development by the State Information
Technology Services agency
 Interagency coordination and decision making for the
ECIDS development and data management through
the implementation of a Data Management Group
 Collaboration with major partner agencies, including:


State agencies participating in Early Learning Challenge
NC Partnership for Children (Smart Start)
Staffing
 ECIDS Specialist on the Early Learning
Challenge grant management staff
 Information Technology Services Staff – Project
Director, Project Manager, Business Analyst,
Technical Architect
 Collaboration with and funding for staff in each
participating state agency for program
requirements and technical development:



Department of Public Instruction
Division of Child Development and Early Education
Division of Public Health
Data Management Group
 Early Childhood Data Management Group to
be created using the existing Data
Management Group (DMG) of the NC
Department of Public Instruction as the
model

www.ncpublicschools.org/data/management/
 Voting representation from each participating
agency to ensure interagency coordination
and decision making
Data Management Group … continued
 Discuss and resolve issues regarding development
of the ECIDS application and associated data
collection, management, and use
 Address long-term evolutionary needs of the
ECIDS application
 Keep the Early Childhood Advisory Council
apprised and elevate policy issues, as needed
 Represent early childhood on the
NC P-20W Council:

www.ncpublicschools.org/data/ncp-20w/
Looking forward in North Carolina
 Learning process with many lessons ahead
over the next three years
 Our interagency governance strategy is
critical to the ECIDS development process
 Contacts:


Anne Bryan, Executive Director, North Carolina
Early Childhood Advisory Council
anne.bryan@nc.gov
Kristen Guillory, Project Manager, North Carolina
Early Learning Challenge Grant
kristen.guillory@nc.gov
Question and Answer
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Resources
 Child Trends Data Bank
http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org The one-stop source for
the latest national trends and research on over 100 key
indicators of child and youth well-being.
 CLASP Datafinder: http://www.clasp.org/data/ CLASP
Child Care and Early Education Data Tool: Using Data to
Inform a State Early Childhood Agenda
http://www.clasp.org/babiesinchildcare/publications?id=0010
 Data Quality Campaign http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org
 PreK-12 Interactive Database of the Federal Education
Budget with state and school-district data:
http://febp.newamerica.net/;
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Contact the ECDC
Elizabeth Groginsky
Executive Director
Early Childhood Data Collaborative
egroginsky@ecedata.org
202.572.6117
Join the ECDC Listserv at www.ecedata.org
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