March of the data wonks

Illinois has used a number of tools to accomplish federal education goals. All of them are rooted in data.

Data Quality Campaign — Illinois already meets seven of 10 criteria of the Data Quality Campaign, a nationwide initiative to educate about the importance of data systems and the steps needed to effectively use data to better prepare students for life after school. Only six states — Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware,

Florida, Louisiana and Utah — meet all 10 criteria, according to the Campaign in early May.

Three items that Illinois currently does not have in place include a system to link teachers to their students, information about courses that students complete and grades they receive, and a system to connect data from preschool to higher education.

A longitudinal data system would help Illinois accomplish all 10 criteria.

American Diploma Project — Illinois is one of 35 states participating in the national American Diploma Project, which started in 2001. Designed as a shorter-term project, it sets academic benchmarks for what students need to know in each grade level to earn a high- school diploma that is internationally recognized as preparing them for college or career. It aligns curriculum and
expectations.

Common Core State Standards Initiative — As the amount Illinois spends on student assessments has increased from about $20 million to $55 million in the past five years, Illinois public schools chief Christopher Koch is joining efforts with numerous chief school officials from other states to set standards about what students should know in each grade level, regardless of the state in which they live.

P-20 Council — The longer-term approach is supposed to be spearheaded by the P-20 Council, a state advisory body created in 2007 under then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich. But none of the 21 positions had been filled by early May.

The P-20 Council is designed to coordinate stakeholders in education to link all levels of education to improve student achievement. The council could use the longitudinal data system to make connections between preschool and higher education.

Judy Erwin, executive director of the Illinois State Board of Higher Education, serves as the point person for the P-20 Council. She says the American Diploma Project, the P-20 Council and the new longitudinal data system demonstrate that officials no longer look at education in separate silos.

“And we no longer can point fingers and say, ‘Well, it’s not my fault that high school didn’t educate that person,’” she says. “It really is a sense of collective responsibility, which I think is a really good thing.”

Bethany Jaeger

Illinois Issues, June 2009