THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

TO:

Full Board

FROM:

Jean C. Stevens

 

SUBJECT:

Student Information Repository System

DATE:

July 18, 2006

STRATEGIC GOAL:

Goals 1 and 2

AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

 

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, New York City, Syracuse, and Yonkers — is the student management systems in school districts and charter schools.  These repositories are used by school districts to prepare data for submission to the Level 2 Repository.

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 New York State when the student first enters a State public school or participating nonpublic school.

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.