The ABCs of Collecting Early Childhood Data in Kansas

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The ABCs of Collecting Early Childhood Data in Kansas26th Annual Management Information Systems [MIS] ConferenceFebruary 13, 2013Kimberly Wright, Senior IT TrainerKansas State Department of Education

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Agenda

Kansas State Department of Educationwww.ksde.org3

Agenda Background

Kansas State Department of Education Early Childhood Programs in Kansas

Collection Process Kansas Individual Data on Students Pre-Kindergarten Program (Four-Year-Old At-Risk Program) Parents as Teachers (PAT) Program

Data Collected by Early Childhood Systems Evaluation of Early Childhood Systems in Kansas Future Iterations to Early Childhood Systems in Kansas

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Background


Background

Kansas State Department of Education 286 school districts – over 1,500 schools Over 470,000 (K-12) students Combination of rural vs. urban About 37,000 educators Local control – approximately 12 different student

information systems Elected Board – appointed commissioner


Background KIDS (Kansas Individual Data on Students) Student-level data collection was implemented in

2005-2006 school year via KIDS Assigns State IDs to PK-12 students Tracks students as they move from school to school Maintains longitudinal data regarding each student • links student’s info across programs across time• eliminates data redundancy• provides more complete picture of student


Background

KIDS data are the basis for: state and federal funding, state and federal reporting, state assessments, interim assessments, accountability and, populating other KSDE systems.


Background Pre-Kindergarten Program (Four-Year-Old At-Risk

Program) KIDS collected some Four-Year-Old At-Risk student data, but

they were mainly used for funding purposes Data were previously gathered on the Kansas Early Learning

Inventory for Fours (KELI-4R) on Scantron survey forms Completed manually by classroom teachers and sent to

KSDE KSDE staff scanned each one Pre-Kindergarten Programs are district sponsored programs

that are housed in a school building


Background

Parents as Teachers Program Data for children, families, and educators were not

previously collected at the state level Local programs have always conducted survey

information on children using paper Parents as Teachers programs are district

sponsored individual district or multiple district consortiums receiving grants from KSDE

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Collection Process


Collection of KIDS Data

Core data elements are required to generate SSIDs for students

Courses must be mapped and assigned to educators in other KSDE systems to allow for the KIDS records to be accepted linking the students to the teachers This needs to be done early in the school year Coordination by multiple staff is essential


Collection of Early Childhood Data:Pre-Kindergarten Program

Early Childhood: Success in Schools (SIS) 2011-2012 Spring through summer 2011—announcements were

made to Four-Year-Old At-Risk teachers via the quarterly newsletter regarding the new system and upcoming training opportunities

Trainings were provided via webinars in early October• The audience was the classroom teacher• First training session introduced the concept of gathering the

data electronically• Next two training sessions focused on software functionality



Early Childhood: Success in Schools 2011-2012 Classroom teachers were required to request access

to the authenticated application to enter data into SIS Announcements were sent out on the KIDS listserv

announcing the opening of a new system and the KIDS’ student course records required for roster population in SIS

KIDS coordinators at each district were required to submit records that connected the teacher and student



Early Childhood: Success in Schools 2011-2012 SIS was implemented in October 2011 Fall KELI-4R data were entered by school staff Home Practices and Classroom Practices data was

entered by school staff fall 2011 through spring 2012

Spring KELI-4R data were entered by school staff starting April 2012



Early Childhood: Success in Schools 2012-2013 SIS opened August 2012 with minimal changes to the

user interface No training was provided and district staff followed

the same procedure from the previous year Student course records sent to the KIDS system

linking the students to the teacher at the school Educators entered the Fall KELI-4R, Home Practices,

and Classroom Practices data during October and November 2012


Collection of Early Childhood Data:Parents as Teachers Program

Early Childhood: Foundations for School Success (FSS) 2012-2013 PAT listserv was used to announce Foundations for School Success

training during the summer 2012 Trainings were provided via regional in-person sessions in mid

August• The audience was the PAT coordinator for each district or the consortium

of districts• The half-day sessions provided an overview of the data being collected,

demonstration of the system, and an opportunity to utilize a training environment for a hands-on practice session

The fall PAT conference included additional training on the details of the actual data being collected


Collection of Early Childhood Data:Parents as Teachers Program

Early Childhood: Foundations for School Success 2012-2013 FSS was implemented late August 2012 PAT coordinators and staff were required to request

access to authenticated application to enter data into FSS

KIDS staff at each district may have been asked to submit records to generate SSIDs

FSS allows SSIDs to be generated when a few key data elements are entered

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Data Collected by Early Childhood Systems


Data Collected by SIS

Child Information Skill levels as observed by classroom teachers Once in the fall, once in the spring

Classroom Practices Description of various instructional practices,

environmental decision, and assessment practices Home practices

Parent/adult practices that support child’s learning


Data Collected by FSS Child Information

Child demographics Ages & Stages Questionnaire 3: child development Ages & Stages Questionnaire: Social Emotional (SE): child SE development Hearing screening summary Vision screening summary

Home Visit Practices & Relationships: Educator demographics Home Visit Rating Scale

Family Information Family demographics Protective Factors Survey (PFS)

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Evaluation of Early Childhood Systems in Kansas


Evaluation of Early Childhood: Success in Schools

Many districts did not map local courses to State courses for pre-kindergarten courses prior to this process which is required to submit student course records to KIDS

The student course records sent to KIDS was only in the second year of collection and still had a few wrinkles

The training targeted classroom teachers, but many districts also needed the KIDS staff and technology staff to be better informed



Classroom teachers did not have experience with KSDE authenticated applications

When a student did not display for a teacher in SIS, the troubleshooting involved both the classroom teacher and the district KIDS staff to resolve it

Sometimes the distinction between Help Desk support gets blurred when one system is dependent upon records from another system



Students already had SSIDs because KSDE was already collecting data on them for funding purposes

The data collected were not new data, they were just submitted electronically instead of by paper

The SIS data entry screens followed the paper forms exactly which makes data entry easier



Because turnover is relatively low for this role, the training required for year two was minimal

Incorporating both the KIDS trainer and the program area expert to provide the trainings allowed for a breadth of information to be shared

KSDE staff was better able to provide guidance when questions were asked because joint training was provided and, as a result, a greater understanding for the other system was gained

No new staff was added to provide technical support as existing Help Desk was utilized


Evaluation of Early Childhood: Foundations for School Success

The children served by Parents as Teachers did not previously have data captured by districts

Many school or district staff did not know who the PAT coordinator was for their district and vice versa

Authoritative source had to be changed to allow for FSS to be a higher source than another non-KSDE system that uses KIDS SSIDs to gather infant/toddler early intervention services by another State agency


Evaluation of Early Childhood: Foundations for School Success

The Parents as Teachers has a coordinator that oversees each program—this person is the point of contact for information sharing

The FSS data entry screens followed the paper forms exactly which made data entry easier

Hands-on training was beneficial for PAT Coordinators who were unfamiliar with KSDE’s Authentication and KIDS SSID systems

Help Desk staff was trained in the system so they were able to provide guidance as soon as the system opened

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Future Iterations to Our Early Childhood Systems


Future Iterations to Early Childhood Systems in Kansas

A state-wide comprehensive early childhood data system in Kansas is still in its infancy

Additional early childhood programs will participate in data collection Head Start Childcare providers

FSS has been developed to allow for non-school-based programs



Head Start programs collect data They have not been involved in a school-based

system There will need to be agreements developed

between entities Data collection is a new process, even

concept, for many child care providers Buy-in for the system will need to be built Training and ongoing support will be essential



Collection of school readiness data elements Has been determined by a task force and based upon

research They are elements that support school readiness and

school success The inclusion of the school readiness data

elements is essential for a complete picture of a child’s education Some data may not be collected consistently Some data elements may not be collected at all


Contact Information and Links

Kimberly Wright: [email protected] KIDS website: [email protected] Early Childhood webpages

Early Childhood: Success in Schools (State Pre-Kindergarten Program): http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=3293

Early Childhood: Foundations for School Success: http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=5221

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=3293




Documents

The ABCs of Collecting Early Childhood Data in Kansas