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THE STATE
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY
OF THE STATE OF |
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TO: |
Full Board |
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FROM: |
Jean C. Stevens |
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SUBJECT: |
Student Information Repository System |
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DATE: |
July 18, 2006 |
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STRATEGIC
GOAL: |
Goals 1 and 2 |
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AUTHORIZATION(S): |
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SUMMARY
Issue for Discussion
Does the Board of Regents desire additional information concerning the status of implementation of the student information repository system?
Reason(s) for Consideration
Implementation of policy.
Proposed Handling
This question will come before the full Board for discussion on July 26, 2006.
Procedural History
Department staff has provided the Board with periodic updates on the student information repository system, including the student identifier system.
Background Information
The purpose of the New York State Student Information Repository System is to provide a single source of standardized individual student records for analysis at the local, regional and State levels to improve student academic performance and to meet State and federal accountability requirements. By the end of August, the repository system will contain 2005-06 school-year records for all students in grades 3-8 and ungraded students of equivalent age; all limited English proficient students in grades K-12; all students eligible to take the NYS Alternative Assessment (NYSAA); and all K-3 students in schools with Reading First Programs. Files containing high school data submitted through the System for Tracking Educational Progress in August 2006 will be placed in the repository by December 2006. By the end of August 2007, the repository will include enrollment, demographic, assessment (K-12) and outcome records for the 2006-07 school year for all public school districts and charter schools and participating nonpublic schools. Attached is a description of the four parts of the Student Information Repository System.
Significant steps toward full implementation
of the repository have been achieved in the 2005-06 school
year:
·
The
Department required that public school districts and charter schools submit
records for all students
in grades 3-8 and ungraded students of equivalent age (preK-12, if preferred);
all limited English proficient students in grades K-12; all students eligible to
take the NYS Alternative Assessment (NYSAA); and all K-3 students in schools
with Reading First Programs, including students in participating nonpublic
schools.
·
All
student assessment records for the grades 3-8 ELA and mathematics assessments
are now part of the repository system. These records were derived from scannable
answer documents completed by students at the time of test administration. Files
from the repository were submitted to McGraw-Hill: CTB for scaling and standard
setting. Final scale scores and performance levels will be stored in the
repository and made available to school districts using the reporting system in
late August.
·
In June
and July, districts submitted student records to the repository for the NYSAA,
the New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT), the
grades 5 and 8 social studies tests, the grades 4 and 8 science tests, and for
summative assessment data for schools participating in Reading First
programs. These scores will be
available on the Level 2 Repository by late August.
·
Over
three million unique identifiers have been assigned to public school students in
all public school districts and charter schools across the State. Unique identifiers have also been
assigned to students in approximately 100 participating nonpublic
schools.
·
With
the advice of a report advisory committee, the Department and the Grow Network
have designed individual student reports for distribution to parents, and
school, district, and BOCES region summary reports for local use and
distribution to the public. These
reports will be accessed using nySTART; reports for the grades 3-8 ELA
assessments will be available for distribution in late August. (Samples of these
reports are attached.)
·
The
Department, with the advice of the same advisory committee, has re-formatted the
school report cards; reports for the 2005-06 school year will be available
through the web in late fall 2006.
·
Beginning in August 2006, using nySTART,
educators will be able to analyze data from the grades 3-8 ELA and mathematics
assessments, the NYSAA, and NYSESLAT.
In 2006-07, elementary- and middle-level science and social studies tests
and Regents examination data will be available for
analysis.
·
Department staff and the Grow Network are
providing training in using the security system and the nySTART at 15 locations
around the State in July and August.
·
The
Grow Network is developing a security system to ensure that only authorized
individuals, designated by district and school staff, can access individual
student data. The system will be available to educators in
August.
Recommendation
We recommend that the Board of Regents identify any additional information needed concerning the implementation of the student information repository system.
Timetable for Implementation
Not applicable.
Attachment
Student
Information Repository System
The Student Information Repository System
consists of four main parts:
1.
A
series of three data repositories provide a source of standardized individual
student records for analysis at the local, regional, and State levels to improve
student performance and to meet State and federal accountability requirements.
The three repository levels, each using the eScholar® data warehouse system and
data model, hold enrollment, demographic, programmatic, and performance data.
The data source for the Level 1 Repositories — hosted by the regional
information centers,
The Level 2
Repository holds records for public school students and provides educators and
policy makers with a resource for data-driven decisions to improve curriculum
and instruction. Level 2 records
include student names and unique identifiers, assigned by the New York State
Student Identifier System (defined below). The Level 3 Repository replicates the
student records on the Level 2 Repository; however, as records are transferred
to Level 3, student names are removed and the unique identifiers are encrypted
to protect the privacy of students. Level 3 provides data for the New York State
School Report Card, for determining the accountability status of public schools
and districts, to meet federal reporting requirements, to inform policy
decisions, and to meet other State needs for individual student data. Standard
aggregations of data from the Level 3 Repository will be placed in the Annual
Reporting Database to provide the general public with access to school
performance data. The
Department contracted with the Erie I Board of Cooperative Educational Services
(BOCES) to develop and maintain the Levels 2 and 3
Repositories.
2.
The New
York State Student Identifier System (NYSSIS) assigns unique identifiers to
every student in pre-kindergarten through grade 12 in
3.
A
web-based reporting tool, known as nySTART, is being developed under contract
with the Grow Network and will be operational in late August. District and
school staff can use this tool to view student records stored in the repository
system. Educators can use nySTART to:
·
verify
the accuracy of data being submitted to the repository
system;
·
access
individual student and district- and school-summary reports for the grades 3-8
English language arts and mathematics assessments, and the New York State
Alternate Assessment (NYSAA);
·
view district-
and school-level analyses of State assessment data, including analyses of
accountability group performance, of performance on the English language arts
(ELA) standards and mathematics content strands, and of item data;
·
view individual
student records;
·
create custom
reports based on repository data to meet the unique needs of districts and
schools; and
·
provide school
superintendents with access to the New York State Report Cards before they are
publicly available.
4.
The
security system, designed and developed by the Grow Network, will ensure that
only authorized individuals can access individual student records in the
Repository.