West Virginia

The following profile is a representation of the West Virginia 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
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Download State Profile

Introduction

The West Virginia Education Information System (WVEIS)[1] is West Virginia’s public education state longitudinal data system (SLDS)[2] maintained by the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE)[3] and the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (WVHEPC)[4], the two state departments that provide the majority of the data records contained in the WVEIS. The WVEIS, created for the purpose of collecting and analyzing West Virginia’s public education data at the individual, course, institution, and system levels, aggregates data records from the breadth of the West Virginia public education systems. The combined data collection systems are part 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 improvements in student learning at elementary, secondary, post-secondary, and higher education levels, and to optimize labor market outcomes, individually and generally.

West Virginia 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 West Virginia Education Information System was created to ensure West Virginia used standardized data collection and reporting solutions to analyze questions regarding West Virginia’s education system and improvement of West Virginia student outcomes http://wveis.k12.wv.us/wveis2004/about.htm

[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 West Virginia Department of Education establishes policies and procedures to assure implementation of West Virginia’s public education goals and to ensure the general supervision, oversite, and monitoring of a thorough, efficient, and effective system for public schools http://wvde.state.wv.us/boardgoals/

[4] The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission upholds a system that provides access to higher education and lasting positive impact on West Virginia higher education students’ economic futures http://www.wvhepc.edu/master-plan-leading-the-way/

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Evaluation Criteria

This review assesses the overall quality of the WVEIS 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)[1] ranking. This report considers each of these criteria pertaining to WVEIS and provides contact information to the departments and individuals who maintain and manage the SLDS.

[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 http://dataqualitycampaign.org/

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Governance and Maintenance

The WVEIS is managed jointly by the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) and the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (WVHEPC)[1]. Each of these agencies utilize data governance structures to ensure student information contained in the WVEIS is collected and used securely and appropriately. The two agencies work independently to maintain satisfactory data privacy standards for their portions of the WVEIS and collaborate to ensure their data collection methods and definitions create data interoperability within the WVEIS. The Office of Research at the WVDE maintains the WVEIS data warehouse, a secure unit of data servers that contain all data records provided to the WVEIS.[2] At the WVHEPC, the Division of Policy and Planning oversees the WVEIS and the collection of data from West Virginia public postsecondary institutions.[3]

At the WVDE, the Executive Director of the Office of Data Management and Analysis and the WVEIS Data Governance Manager are the designated authorities who govern the use and maintenance of the WVEIS. These two authorities ensure a system of data protection exists around the data system and that the system operates in accordance with Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and other relevant state and federal laws regarding student information. A comprehensive list of the WVDE’s responsibilities concerning the WVEIS are provided below:[4]

  • Guaranteeing the security and confidentiality of the data maintained within the WVEIS
  • Ensuring the system information is available to those with a legitimate educational need to access data
  • Comply with all aspects of FERPA, and other related state and federal laws
  • Use appropriate measures to protect the confidentiality of student records
  • Maintain the WVEIS data dictionary to ensure it is accurate, up to date, and available to accompany any reports generated
  • Ensure that the WVEIS public portal only displays aggregate reports for public views
  • Determining whether a request for access to student records constitutes a legitimate request for an appropriate usage of student data
  • Determining if personally identifiable information has been improperly disclosed to a WVDE contractor

[1] Information provided by the West Virginia Department of Education and the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission http://static.k12.wv.us/tt/2014/datamanagement_guidance%20FINAL%201-21-14.pdf http://www.wvhepc.edu/inside-the-commission/offices-and-affiliates/policy-and-planning/

[2] Information provided by the West Virginia Department of Education https://wvde.state.wv.us/zoomwv/zoomwv-data-source.html

[3] Information provided by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission http://www.wvhepc.edu/inside-the-commission/offices-and-affiliates/policy-and-planning/

[4] Information provided by the West Virginia Department of Education http://static.k12.wv.us/tt/2014/datamanagement_guidance%20FINAL%201-21-14.pdf

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Data Providers

The WVEIS utilizes a centralized SLDS model, where data records are provided from education institutions and WVEIS partners to a centralized data warehouse. These combined data records are linked and de-identified, providing WVEIS users the ability to conduct longitudinal studies on student outcomes throughout the education process.[1] The WVEIS receives data records from the WVDE and the WVHECC. The WVDE provides K-12 student data records, collected from the local education agencies operating in the state.[2] The WVHECC provides postsecondary student data records, collected from the public higher education institutions in the state as well as several of the private institutions.[3] This data is contained in the WVEIS data warehouse, in a de-identified state so that personally identifiable information is not at risk.

[1] Information provided by the 2012 West Virginia SLDS Grant application https://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/pdf/WestVirginia2012.pdf

[2] Information provided by the West Virginia Department of Education http://wvde.state.wv.us/zoomwv/zoomwv-data-source.html

[3] Information provided by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission http://www.wvhepc.edu/inside-the-commission/offices-and-affiliates/policy-and-planning/

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Funding

WVDE 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 2012 and was awarded one grant, the 2012 SLDS Grant, The 2012 SLDS Grant awarded West Virginia $4,798,697 for the purpose of developing the longitudinal capabilities of the data system. This funding was used to pay for the various costs associated with developing 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]:

  • Establish the SLDS formal governance and policy requirements
    • Define the needs and uses of the SLDS
    • Establish a comprehensive governance structure for the SLDS
    • Build institutional support for the SLDS
    • Establish a sustainability plan for the SLDS
  • Address technical requirements related to key data elements within the SLDS
    • Establish guidelines and requirements to uphold privacy
    • Develop processes and procedures to ensure high data quality for key elements in the SLDS
    • Ensure interoperability between the SLDS elements and external systems
    • Enhance current enterprise-wide architecture
  • Promote access to and use of data from the SLDS
    • Select an SLDS solution that supports secure access for all user levels
    • Ensure that deliverables are developed and targeted toward the end users’ needs as specified in governance documents
    • Establish and implement a professional development structure to apply and interpret data to inform decision making
    • Establish a process for evaluating effectiveness of data tools and related professional development
    • Establish policies to ensure effective partnerships with the research community
    • Establish a sustainability plan for data access tools, processes, and training

[1] Information provided by the 2012 SLDS Grant Application https://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/pdf/WestVirginia2012.pdf

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Research Accommodation

Outside researchers interested in conducting research using the data records linked through the WVEIS must submit a data request form to the WVDE. The WVDE requires researchers to first verify that the type of data they need to complete their research is not already provided by the WVDE through its publicly assessable data portal. Researchers in need of individual, longitudinal data sets will not find the type of data they need through this portal. In this case, the WVDE provides researchers a data request form they must complete and submit to the department. This request form requires the following information:[1]

  • Contact information
  • Affiliation or role
  • Type of data requested
  • What data is requested?
  • What school years are requested?
  • What is the purpose of this research?
  • What is the intended use of this research?
  • Special considerations regarding this request

[1] Data request form provided by the West Virginia Department of Education https://wvde.state.wv.us/zoomwv/researchers.html

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Public User Portal

The WVEIS public portal, called ZoomWV, is operated for the purpose of providing useful aggregate level data about various education issues to interested parties within West Virginia. These parties include administrators, educators, policy makers, parents, students and other parties interested in education outcomes within the state of West Virginia. The quality of these portals 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].

ZoomWV Public Portal Evaluation:

  • User-friendliness:
    • The home page of the portal explains the purpose of the portal and the data reports available through it. Helpful tools such as “how-to” videos, user help links, and pre-identified popular searchers help users navigate through the portal. The portal also provides clear pathways to contact the WVDE if the user has questions that are not answered by the user help tools.

 

  • Extent of data offered:
    • The portal offers aggregate level reports on K-12 student outcomes and characteristics at the state, district, and school levels. These reports include enrollment, graduation, drop-out, and attendance rates. The portal also provides student demographic and socioeconomic information for each of these reports. Reports regarding educator characteristics and salaries are also included.

 

  • Self-sufficiency of the portal:
    • The ZoomWV portal provides direct access to each of the reports listed in the portal. The portal does not provide access or links to any other West Virginia education information sources, such as information provided by the WVHECC or other higher education institutions.

 

  • Extent of customizable reports that can be created through the portal
    • The ZoomWV portal allows interested parties to customize the reports available through the portal through various specifications. Interested parties can customize reports using criteria such as state, district, and school level specifications. The portal does not allow users to sort reports by student demographics, but it does allow users to see demographic breakdowns for each report generated.

[1] Information for this section was provided through analysis of the ZoomWV portal https://zoomwv.k12.wv.us/Dashboard/portalHome.jsp

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The West Virginia legislature passed W. Va. Code § 18B-1D-10, which effectively established the purpose of the WVEIS as an SLDS to improve the quality of life, education and employment opportunities of West Virginia students.[1]

[1] Statute information can be found by searching through the West Virginia State Code http://www.legis.state.wv.us/wvcode/ChapterEntire.cfm?chap=18b&art=1D#

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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.

West Virginia 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

West Virginia has currently met 7 of the 10 state actions:

  • 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 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

Data Quality Campaign score: 7/10

It should be noted that the Data Quality Campaign assessed each state’s progress towards completing the state actions in 2014. At this time, West Virginia had failed to meet the following 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 5 – Provide timely, role-based access to data
  • State Action 9 – Implement policies and promote practices to build educators’ capacity to use data

[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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NCES

West Virginia Department of Education
Andy Whisman, Executive Director
Phone: (304) 558-8869
Email: swhisman@k12.wv.us

West Virginia Department of Education
David Hudnall, WVEIS Lead Coordinator
Phone: (304) 558-8869
Email: david.hudnall@k12.wv.us

West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission
Dr. Chris Treadway, Director of Research and Analysis
Phone: (304) 558-1112 (ext. 269(
Email: Chris.Treadway@wvhepc.edu

West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission
Pam Woods, SLDS Project Manager
Phone: (304) 558-1112 (ext. 210)
Email: Pam.Woods@wvhepc.edu

 

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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.

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