About Statewide P-20 Longitudinal Data System Alignment

There is a growing national interest in better aligning the P–12 and postsecondary education systems to ensure all students leave high school “college ready.” However, until all states have aligned longitudinal data systems, these conversations are limited. Therefore, policymakers should consider a range of efforts that will help reduce barriers and increase support for the building and use of longitudinal data systems, and states must continue to build, maintain and align them. With such systems in place, policymakers will be able to answer pressing questions such as:

What high school performance indicators (e.g., enrollment in rigorous courses or performance on state tests) are the best predictors of students’ success in college or the workplace? (6 states can answer this question)
What percentage of high school graduates take remedial courses in college? (19 states can answer this question)
Which teacher preparation programs produce the graduates whose students have the strongest academic growth? (13 states can answer this question)

The DQC will focus in its third year on the need to develop linkages between P–12 and postsecondary data systems to ensure that these alignment conversations are informed by high-quality, relevant and timely data. The DQC will assist states as they build aligned data systems that can help them:

Match academic records of individual students between P–12 and postsecondary, and use these data to ensure continuous feedback and improvement. Although 22 states report they have the ability to link P–12 and postsecondary data systems, previous surveys from Achieve and the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems find that only 11 states actually link these data across the sectors and only 10 states regularly report postsecondary data to high schools. Without this two-way data-sharing, secondary school systems won’t know if their students are leaving high school prepared for the demands of postsecondary education, training and work.
Measure the education pipeline. As education systems become increasingly aligned through standards, assessments and other measures, providing information about successful transitions and “leaks” in the pipeline is equally vital. Longitudinal data on student courses and grades, test scores, and remediation rates can serve as college readiness indicators.
Transfer records across systems and states. In an increasingly mobile world, not only do education data systems need to be able to exchange information with other systems — such as postsecondary — within the state, but they also need to be able to exchange information with systems in other states.

Click to learn more about The Data Quality Campaign at Year Two- Update on 2007 Results