Kentucky
The following profile is a representation of the Kentucky public education state longitudinal data system (SLDS) as presented through publicly available resources of public primary, secondary and higher education, information made available to the public through the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the Data Quality Campaign, published research articles, other third party internet resources (as noted), and direct contact with state and federal public education officials. It is not a formal program evaluation.
The information provided is intended for use by academic researchers, state and federal public education policy makers, educators, and student households.
| Introduction | Evaluation Criteria | Governance and Maintenance | Data Providers |
| Funding | Researcher Access | Public User Portal | Legal Statues |
| DQC | Contact | Schematic | State Response |
| . | |||
| Download State Profile | KLDS Dashboard | KLDS Website | NCES Funding: 2009 2012 2015 |
Introduction
The Kentucky Longitudinal Data System (KLDS)[1] is Kentucky’s state longitudinal data system (SLDS)[2] managed by the Kentucky Center for Education and Workforce Statistics (KCEWS)[3], an office of the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet (EWDC)[4]. The KLDS, created for the purpose of collecting and analyzing Kentucky public education data at the individual, course, institution, and system levels, aggregates data records from the breadth of the Kentucky public education collection systems and workforce databases. The combined data collection systems are part of a nation-wide effort to record granular public education detail over time in order to document the entirety of students’ education experience. This information is intended to be available for analysis and public policy consideration for the purpose of producing improvement in student learning at elementary, secondary, post-secondary, and higher education levels, and to optimize labor market outcomes, individually and generally.
Kentucky is one of the 47 states having received public funding to create a state longitudinal data system (SLDS). Despite state-to-state differences, each SLDS shares a common purpose of supporting research and analysis with the intent of informing individual, household, and public policy decisions based on standardized criteria.
[1] The Kentucky Longitudinal Data System is managed by the Kentucky Center for Education and Workforce Statistics for the purpose of collecting and integrating Kentucky education and workforce data
[2] State longitudinal data systems are intended to enhance the ability of states to efficiently and accurately manage, analyze, and use education data https://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/about_SLDS.asp
[3] The Kentucky Center for Education and Workforce Statistics collects and links data to evaluate education and workforce efforts in the state of Kentucky https://kcews.ky.gov/Default.aspx
[4] The Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet educates, prepares and trains Kentucky’s current and future workforce http://educationcabinet.ky.gov/About-Us/Pages/default.aspx
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Evaluation Criteria
This review assesses the overall quality of the KLDS as an SLDS by considering the nature of the organization maintaining the data system, those agencies and institutions providing inputs to the data system, and to which agencies and institutions the data systems’ outputs are available. The assessment also considers the data system’s funding mechanisms, internal and external researcher data accessibility, the quality of the data system’s public user interface (dynamic reporting tool), and the data system’s current Data Quality Campaign (DQC)[1] ranking. This report considers each of these criteria pertaining to the KLDS and provides contact information to the departments and individuals who maintain and manage the KLDS.
[1] The Data Quality Campaign is a national, nonprofit organization leading the effort to bring every part of the education community together to empower educators, parents, and policymakers with quality information to make decisions that ensure students excel
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Governance and Maintenance
The KLDS is actively managed and maintained by KCEWS, a state government agency housed within the EWDC. KCEWS was ratified into law in the 2013 legislative session to expand on the work of the Kentucky P-20 Data Collaborative, a joint effort from the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE)[1], the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE)[2] and the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB)[3]. The Kentucky P-20 Data Collaborative successfully developed and created the KLDS but was funded solely through federal grant awards. KCEWS, a 20% state-funded office, was created to expand upon the preliminary work of the Kentucky P-20 Data Collaborative and ensure that the state would have a sustainable tool to examine students’ education and workforce outcomes[4].
KCEWS is legislatively authorized to collect and link data from the various Kentucky education and workforce data systems that provide data records to the KLDS. KCEWS stores these data records in the KLDS data warehouse and uses a de-identified reporting system to remove identifying variables from the data, such as names, social security numbers, addresses, etc. KCEWS is responsible for using the data records located within the KLDS data warehouse to develop reports and statistical data about education and workforce. (Several annual reports available on http://kcews.ky.gov) These reports and statistical data are provided to state policy makers, agencies, practitioners, administrators and the general public to allow them to evaluate education and workforce efforts in the state of Kentucky.
KCEWS is housed within the EWDC but governed by the Board of the Kentucky Center for Education and Workforce Statistics, a board appointed by the Governor composed of the following members:[5]
- The commissioner of the Department of Education or designee
- The executive director of the Education Professional Standards Board or designee
- The president of the Council on Postsecondary Education or designee
- The secretary of the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet or designee
- The executive director of the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority or designee
The secretary of the EWDC serves as chair of the board and is required to call meetings at least semi-annually. The board can form committees, work groups, or advisory councils to accomplish its required duties and functions. The board is required to[6]:
- Develop a detailed data access and use policy for requests that shall include but not limited to the following:
- Direct access to data in the Kentucky Longitudinal Data System shall be restricted to authorized staff of the office.
- Data or information that may result in any individual or employer being identifiable based on the size or the uniqueness of the population under consideration may not be reported in any form by the office; and
- The office may not release data or information if disclosure is prohibited under relevant federal or state privacy laws;
- Establish the research agenda of the office;
- Make nominations to the Governor for the appointment of an executive director;
- Oversee compliance by the office with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. sec. 1232g, and other relevant federal and state privacy laws; and
- Provide general oversight of the office.
[1] The Kentucky Department of Education is a service agency that provides resources and guidance to Kentucky’s public schools and districts http://education.ky.gov/comm/about/Pages/default.aspx
[2] The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education coordinates change and improvement in Kentucky’s postsecondary education system http://cpe.ky.gov/about/
[3] The Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board is responsible for issuing and renewing certificates for all Kentucky teachers and administrators http://www.kyepsb.net/
[4] Information for this section provided by KCEWS online site
See ref. 3
[5] Information provided by Kentucky state statute 151B.134 http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Statutes/statute.aspx?id=42345
[6] See ref. 12
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Data Providers
KCEWS receives data from over 15 sources which include early childhood learning, K-12 schools, higher education, and employment and wage records. KDE provides data records to the KLDS through its K-12 longitudinal data system that collects individual student level data pertaining to students in the state of Kentucky[1]. CPE provides data records to the KLDS through its postsecondary reporting data system, a longitudinal data system that collects data records from public and private higher education institutions in the state of Kentucky. KHEAA provides financial aid data pertaining to postsecondary education through its postsecondary reporting data system. EPSB provides teacher certification and licensure data records through its EPSB data portal, a data repository that collect data records pertaining to Kentucky educators from the Educator Preparation Institution’s Admission and Exit Reports and the Teacher Certification Database. The EWDC provides workforce data records through the various data systems of the state agencies that comprise the cabinet.
According to KCEWS, the data records provided by each of these state agencies and institutions are linked through the De-Identified Reporting System (DRS)[2]. Once these data records are linked, the DRS assigns a unique identifier variable to each set of linked data records and removes any other identifiable data variables. This process validates data interoperability between the state agencies and institutions’ data systems, a necessary requirement for a functional longitudinal data system.
[1] See ref. 3
[2] See ref. 3
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Funding
KCEWS received federal funding through the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), an agency of the United States Department of Education, in 2009, 2012 and 2015. KDE applied for federal funding in 2009 and was awarded $2,878,373 for the purpose of developing and creating a state P-20W longitudinal data system. This funding was used to pay for the various costs associated with the creation of a data system, including: personnel costs, travel costs, equipment costs, contractual costs, and indirect costs. The proposed outcomes to be produced using this funding include[1]:
- Contracting with an outside third party vendor to design and implement the expanded infrastructure to support the KLDS’s data warehouse
- Collaborate to analyze and profile data specific to the project objectives
- Examine legal and policy issues surrounding data matches and develop cross agency agreements governing data access issues to ensure compliance with FERPA as well as any other state and federal requirements
- Expand the P-12 SLDS including data sources, reports, and tools for analysis
KDE applied for federal funding in 2012 and was awarded $3,633,928 for the purpose of expanding and improving the individual state agency’s data systems which provide data records to the KLDS. This funding was used to pay for the various costs associated with the creation of a data system, including: personnel costs, travel costs, equipment costs, contractual costs, and indirect costs. The prosed outcomes to be produced using this funding include[2]:
- Incorporate a variety of workforce and employment data sources into the KLDS’s existing P-20 data repository of linked, unit-level K-12, postsecondary, and educator preparation and certification data
- Expand the scope and quality of the state’s postsecondary data system which provides college and university data to the KLDS
- Expand the scope and quality of the state’s data on educator preparation and certification and make this data available to the KLDS
KCEWS applied for federal funding in 2015 and was awarded $6,634,741 for the purpose of expanding the KLDS’s existing capabilities to inform education policy consideration within the state of Kentucky. KCEWS reports that this funding will fund a project to build upon the effective use and delivery of education and workforce data to assist policy makers and practitioners in carrying out research to inform state education and policy and practice and ultimately, improve education and workforce outcomes. The specific goals of the project include[3]:
- Using the KLDS to assess students’ college and career readiness and evaluate education and workforce outcomes over time and across state lines
- Improving the ability of KDE, CPE, EPSB, the Kentucky Department of Workforce Investment (DWI), and other state and local partners to conduct high-quality research and program evaluations
[1] Information provided by the Kentucky 2009 SLDS Grant https://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/pdf/Kentucky2009.pdf
[2] Information provided by the Kentucky 2012 SLDS Grant https://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/pdf/Kentucky2012.pdf
[3] Information provided by Kentucky 2015 SLDS Grant Application https://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/state.asp?stateabbr=KY
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Research Accommodation
Please see: https://kcews.ky.gov/datarequest.aspx
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Public User Portal
The KLDS’s public user portal is operated by KCEWS for the purpose of providing useful aggregate level data about various education issues to interested parties within the state of Kentucky. These parties include administrators, educators, policy makers, parents, students and other parties’ interest in education outcomes within the state of Kentucky. The quality of the KLDS public user portal will be evaluated using several different criteria which include: the user-friendliness of the portal, the extent of data offered by the portal, whether the portal is self-sufficient or relies upon other webpages to provide information, and the extent of customizable reports that can be created using the portal[1].
- User-friendliness:
- The KLDS portal is located within the Data and Reports tab of the KCEWS home page, the home page clearly explains the purpose of the KLDS and the public portal clearly and effectively. The portal explains what data each section of the KLDS contains and what reports can be generated using this data. The portal also provides instructional information on how to generate these reports. The portal also has a Contact Us tab listed on the KCEWS home page which allows users to easily reach out to KCEWS staff members.
- Extent of data offered:
- The KLDS portal offers information pertaining to several different education categories, including: high school feedback reports, postsecondary feedback reports, early childhood profile reports, county profile reports, teacher preparation feedback reports, and Kentucky adult education feedback reports. The KLDS portal also offers several white paper reports which combine various data records from the above mentioned education categories to produce comprehensive analyses of Kentucky’s education and workforce outcomes. The portal also provides access to aggregate data records of the above mentioned education categories.
- Self-sufficiency of the KLDS portal:
- The KLDS portal provides direct access to each of the education categories and reports listed within the portal. In addition of this information, the portal lists quick links to each of the agencies and institutions that provide data records to the KLDS.
- Extent of customizable reports that can be created using the KLDS portal:
- The KLDS portal allows interested parties to create customizable reports about the education categories listed within the portal. These reports allow the user to change several input variables to specify the type of information they would like to access. The user can specify the cohort year and type of report they would like to receive pertaining to that cohort. The user can also specify the particular institution or group of institutions that will be analyzed in the report.
[1] Information for this section provided by evaluation of KLDS’s public portal located on KCEWS online site
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Legal Statutes
The Kentucky Legislature addresses the specific function of the KLDS and its overseer in Chapter 151 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes. Statute 151B.132 officially establishes the KCEWS as an entity attached to EWDC and defines its intended purpose. This statute also designates which state agencies must provide data records to the KLDS and the mechanisms through which KCEWS may receive funding.[1] Statute 151B.133 defines the specific duties of KCEWS and establishes the state and federal laws the department must comply to.[2] Statute 151B.134 establishes the Board of Kentucky Center for Education and Workforce Statistics, the state agency members that must serve on the board, and the duties and functions of the board.[3]
[1] Information provided by Kentucky Statute 151B.132 http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Statutes/statute.aspx?id=42343
[2] Information provided by Kentucky Statute 151B.133 http://www.lrc.ky.gov/statutes/statute.aspx?id=43215
[3] Information provided by Kentucky Statute 151B.134 http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Statutes/statute.aspx?id=42345
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DQC
The Data Quality Campaign (DQC) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan national advocacy organization that evaluates each state’s longitudinal data system to determine how effectively each state uses their data system for education improvement purposes. The DQC’s annual survey, Data for Action (DFA)[1], measures each state’s progress towards implementing the 10 Essential Elements of Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems and the Ten State Actions to Ensure Effective Data Use[2], a set of elements and policy actions proposed to produce quality data systems and increase student achievement within in each state.
Kentucky has currently met each of the 10 essential elements:
- Element 1 – Statewide student identifier
- Element 2 – Student-level enrollment data
- Element 3 – Student-level test data
- Element 4 – Information on untested students
- Element 5 – Statewide teacher identifier with a teacher-student match
- Element 6 – Student-level course completion data
- Element 7 – Student-level SAT, ACT, and Advanced Placement exam data
- Element 8 – Student-level graduation and dropout data
- Element 9 – Ability to match student-level P-12 and higher education data
- Element 10 – State data audit system
Kentucky has currently met 10 of the 10 state actions:
- State Action 1 – Link state K-12 data systems with early learning, workforce, and other critical state agency data systems
- State Action 2 – Create stable, sustainable support for longitudinal data systems
- State Action 3 – Develop governance structures for longitudinal data systems
- State Action 4 – Build state data repositories
- State Action 5 – Provide timely, role-based access to data
- State Action 6 – Create progress reports with student-level data for educators, students, and parents
- State Action 7 – Create reports with longitudinal statistics to guide system-level change
- State Action 8 – Develop a purposeful research agenda
- State Action 9 – Implement policies and promote practices to build educators’ capacity to use data
- State Action 10 – Promote strategies to raise awareness of available data
Data Quality Campaign score: 10/10
[1] DQC’s annual survey, Data for Action (DFA), is a powerful tool to inform efforts in education to better use data in decision making. It is a series of analyses that highlight state progress and key priorities to promote the effective use of longitudinal data to improve student achievement
[2] DQC’s 10 Essential Elements of Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems and 10 State Actions to Ensure Effective Data Use provide a roadmap for state policymakers to create a culture of effective data use in which quality data are not only collected but also used to increase student achievement
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Contact
Kentucky Center for Education and Workforce Statistics
Justin Otto
Marketing and Communications Director
1050 US Highway 127
Frankfort, KY 40601
Email: Justin.otto@ky.gov
Phone: (502) 564-2651
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Schematic
This schematic is offered to provide a simplified, visual presentation of the KLDS and the channels through which data flows into and out of the SLDS. The entities on the far left side of the schematic represent the data record providers to the KLDS. The entities in the middle of the schematic represent the KLDS data system and public user portal. The entities on the far right side of the schematic represent the parties intended to receive benefits from the outputs generated by the KLDS.
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State Response
SLDS stakeholders listed under Contacts (above) have been provided a copy of this State Profile and given an opportunity to provide comments in response. No comments have been received for this state to date.