Maine
The following profile is a representation of the Maine 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 Statutes |
| DQC | Contact | Schematic | State Response |
| . | |||
| Download State Profile | MSLDS Dashboard | MSLDS Website | NCES Funding: 2007 2009-ARRA |
Introduction
The Maine Statewide Longitudinal Data System (MSLDS) is Maine’s public education state longitudinal data system (SLDS)[1] managed by the Maine Department of Education (MDOE)[2]. The MSLDS, created for the purpose of collecting and analyzing Maine’s public education data at the individual, course, institution, and system levels, links data records from the breadth of the Maine public education systems. 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 the students’ education experience. This information is intended to be available for analysis and public policy consideration for the purpose of producing improvements in student learning at elementary, secondary, post-secondary, and higher education levels, and to optimize labor market outcomes, individually and generally.
Maine 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.
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Evaluation Criteria
This review assesses the overall quality of MSLDS 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 (dashboard), and the data system’s current Data Quality Campaign (DQC)[3] ranking. This report considers each of these criteria pertaining to MSLDS and provides contact information to the departments and individuals who maintain and manage the SLDS.
[1] The Maine Statewide Longitudinal Data System is managed by the Maine Department of Education for the purpose of collecting and integrating Maine public education data http://maine.gov/doe/dataresources/warehouse.html
[2] The Maine Department of Education’s mission is to provide leadership and to collaborate with educators and learning communities in order to ensure that every learner has the opportunity to be successful http://maine.gov/doe/insidedoe/
[3] 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 http://dataqualitycampaign.org/
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Governance and Maintenance
The MSLDS is governed by the Maine Department of Education’s (MDOE) Data Management Team (DMT), an oversight committee comprised of representatives from each of the key areas in the MDOE. The DMT is comprised of the following MDOE representatives: [1]
- Commissioner
- Deputy Commissioner
- School Finance and Operations Director
- Special Services Director
- SLDS Project Director
- SLDS Training Manager
- Federal and State Reporting Manager
- School Nutrition Director
- Career & Technology Education Director
- AYP Director
- Assessments Director
- OIT Director
- Director of Technology from a school district
The DMT closely monitors the development of the MSLDS and other data related projects and initiatives occurring within the department. The SLDS Project Director provides status reports to DMT on a monthly basis. The DMT has been actively involved in Maine’s SLDS project since its inception and each member serves as the data steward for their program area. Policy decisions are overseen by an internal Leadership Team which is comprised of all Department Policy Directors. The Leadership Team, under the direction of the Commissioner, is responsible for developing and executing a strategic plan for PK-12 public education in Maine, budgeting for the implementation of the plan, providing information to the Maine Legislature, the Maine State Board of Education (MSBOE), and the general public on the current status and future needs of Maine’s public education system. [2]
The MDOE manages and maintains the MSLDS in partnership with Maine State Office of Information Technology (OIT). The data system is located in-house OIT and operated by the MDOE’s SLDS project team and the Maine State Office of Information Technology (OIT) staff. The OIT aided the MDOE in the development of MSLDS and continues to provide maintenance support to the data system. These parties maintain, support and evaluate the technical infrastructure of the MSLDS, including its data security, accessibility, application maintenance, and network services. The OIT staff works closely with the SLDS project staff to develop and implement an infrastructure architecture that is efficient, cost-effective, and fully integrated with the existing MDOE and other state agency servers.[3]
[1] Information obtained from the 2009 Maine ARRA SLDS Grant application https://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/pdf/Maine2009-ARRA.pdf
[2] Information obtained from the 2009 Maine ARRA SLDS Grant application https://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/pdf/Maine2009-ARRA.pdf
[3] Information obtained from the Maine 2009 ARRA SLDS Grant application https://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/pdf/Maine2009-ARRA.pdf
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Data Providers
The MSLDS receives data records from the MDOE and the University of Maine System (UM). The MDOE provides K-12 data records from each public Local Education Agency (LEA) in Maine. The UM provides post-secondary data records from each of the universities and colleges participating in the UM System. These data records are linked through the use of a state assigned unique identifier variable which is assigned to each student that enters into the Maine public education system. This state assigned ID is attached to Maine students throughout their education careers, including their higher education efforts if they continue on their education process after high school. The MDOE data records contain a significant amount of information on each student, including graduation and dropout events, course attendance and completion rates, performance, demographic characteristics, and other identifier information. The UM data records also contain a significant amount of information on each student, including course attendance and completion rates, student demographic characteristics, credit obtainment, remediation efforts, and graduation rates. [1][2]
[1] Information obtained from the Maine Department of Education online site http://www.maine.gov/doe/dataresources/warehouse.html
[2] Information obtained from the University of Maine System online site http://www.maine.edu/about-the-system/ums-data-book/
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Funding
The MDE applied for federal funding through the Statewide Longitudinal Data System Grant program administered by the Institute of Education Sciences, an agency of the United States Department of Education, in 2007 and 2009. Maine was awarded two grants, the 2007 SLDS Grant and the 2009 ARRA SLDS Grant for the purpose of developing and enhancing its state longitudinal data system. The 2007 SLDS Grant awarded Maine $3,227,231 for the purpose of building the foundational components of the MSLDS. This funding was used for the various costs associated with developing a data system, including: travel costs, equipment costs, supplies costs, contractual costs, and indirect costs. The proposed outcomes to be produced using this funding include: [1]
- Create a standard statewide Data Dictionary for education data to facilitate data collection from LEAs and the migration of data from disparate departmental databases into a central data warehouse. The Data Dictionary will include meta-data as well as SIF and NCES data element standards.
- Build a comprehensive central Data Warehouse serving as a repository of PreK-20 data from department databases to support data driven decision making, timely and complete State and federal reporting, as well as research and analysis of the effectiveness of intervention programs.
- Develop a single sign-on Education Portal to provide secure and public access for all stakeholders for all education data from department data systems including the central data warehouse.
- Establish technology standards for State and LEA systems, including Full Integration of SIF Agents and Zone Integration Servers, to enable collection of staff, student, assessment and school funding data.
The 2009 ARRA SLDS Grant awarded Maine $7,315,000 for the purpose of further expanding the capabilities of the MSLDS. This funding was used to pay for the various costs associated with the development of a data system, which include: travel costs, equipment costs, supplies costs, contractual costs, and indirect costs. The proposed outcomes to be produced using this funding include: [2]
- Improve teacher effectiveness by implementing a web-based Educator Credentialing System and comprehensive web-based Teacher Quality Management System
- Expand the SLDS Education Data Warehouse from a Pre-K through 12 to an Early Childhood through 20 system
- Deliver comprehensive stakeholder training programs to encourage the use of longitudinal data by the general public, educators, at-risk intervention programs, community groups and researchers for the purpose of evaluating programs and improving student achievement
- Partner with the Maine Education Research Policy Institute (MEPRI) to conduct longitudinal research studies utilizing the expanded TEAchME longitudinal data
[1] Information obtained from the Maine 2007 SLDS Grant application https://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/pdf/Maine2007.pd
[2] Information obtained from the Maine 2009 ARRA SLDS Grant application https://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/pdf/Maine2009-ARRA.pdf
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Research Accommodation
Outside researchers interested in utilizing Maine public education data for research must submit a data request to the MDOE. This request must contain the following information:[1]
- Requestor Information
- Full Name
- Organization
- Contact Telephone
- Request Date
- Date Needed By
- Brief Description of Research
- Data Requested Granularity
- Data Requested Items
- Data Items
- Grouping
- Sorting
- Detailed Description of Research, Purpose, Methodology
[1] Information obtained from the Maine Department of Education’s online site http://maine.gov/doe/data/submit-request.shtml
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Public User Portal
MDOE Data Warehouse Evaluation:
- User-friendliness:
- The portal is easily-accessible through the MDOE Data Warehouse tab, located in the MDOE online site. The MDOE Data Warehouse page provides a comprehensive overview of each of the information sections provided within the portal. The portal is intuitive to use and easy to navigate. Users are provided a clear overview of the sections contained in the portal and are provided step by step instructions on how to use the tools in these sections.
- Extent of data offered:
- The portal provided K-12 data on each school district and county in the state of Maine. It also provides K-12 data on the overall education outcomes of the state in general and the amount of students that are moving onto higher education or post-secondary institutions.
- Self-sufficiency of the portal:
- The portal provides direct access to the district and school reports that can be generated within it. In addition to this, the portal provides a connection to the MDOE Data Warehouse and all of the tools, resources and information that can be found within the site.
- Extent of customizable reports that can be created through the portal:
- The portal allows users to customize reports by deciding whether they would like to look at the education performance and characteristics of the entire state or a particular district or school. The portal then allows uses to choose what information will be provided within the report. Some information available to be selected include cohort year, student demographic characteristics, school personnel composition, and state assessment scores. Once the user has designated what report they would like to view, the report is automatically generated on-site.
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Legal Statutes
In 2011, the Maine legislature passed Statute 6005 which officially created the mandate for the MDE to develop and maintain the MSLDS. The statute establishes the capabilities that the MSLDS must be capable of performing and state and federal laws the data system must adhere to. The statute states:
“The department shall develop and maintain the Maine Statewide Longitudinal Data System, a continuing program of information management, the purpose of which is to compile, maintain and disseminate information concerning the educational histories, placement, employment and other measures of success of participants in state educational programs.” (2011, c. 223, S6005)[1]
[1] Information obtained from the Maine Revised Statutes http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/20-A/title20-Asec6005.html
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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.
Maine 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
Maine has currently met 10 of the 10 state actions:
- State Action 1 – Link state K-12 data systems with early learning, postsecondary, 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 10 – Promote strategies to raise awareness of available data
Maine has currently not met 1 of the 10 state actions:
- State Action 9 – Implement policies and promote practices to build educators’ capacity to use data
Data Quality Campaign score: 9/10
[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
Maine Department of Education
Lance Gilman
State Longitudinal Data System Project Director
Phone: (207) 624-6681
Email: lance.gilman@maine.gov
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Schematic
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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.