2016 NCES STATS DC Conference Presentations

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) hosts an annual data conference called, STATS DC.  This year, MNPS representatives Laura Hansen and Dr. Margie Johnson presented in 5 different sessions.

To learn more about the conference, go to http://ies.ed.gov/whatsnew/conferences/?id=2531.

Laura Hansen's Session

Make Data Work for Students: Opportunities in the
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)............................... 
Brennan McMahon Parton, Data Quality Campaign
Laura Hansen, Metro Nashville Public Schools (TN)

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is an opportunity to use data in new ways, particularly to be transparent with families and communities. Reporting such information as post-secondary enrollment and chronic absence provides more robust indicators of school success. These new data requirements present opportunities for states and districts but also potential challenges. States will need to be mindful of how they work with districts to ensure useful, quality data without collections being overly burdensome. Hear from the Data Quality Campaign and a leading district information officer about opportunities and considerations in the new law.
 
 
Student Data Privacy Consortium—A Common Contract Framework...................
Steve Smith, Cambridge Public Schools (MA)
Laura Hansen, Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (TN)

The Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC) is a national collaborative with representatives from a diverse set of learning organizations, governmental agencies, vendors, and providers focused on operationalizing the complex and high-profile privacy issues surrounding safeguarding student data. This work will leverage other work going on by the cadre of organizations working in the student data privacy space but is focused on tactical and implementation support. The first project identified by this group is to expand the very successful work of the Massachusetts Student Privacy Alliance’s (MSPA’s) development of a “standardized contract framework” among schools, states, and vendors. This broad development-and-adoption collaborative will establish common expectations between vendors and schools when entering into an agreement without having to renegotiate terms in every new instance. This session will explain the work of the project, its goals, and next steps.
 
EDUCaTION wiThout d@tA sdradnat$............................
Bob Swiggum, Georgia State Department of Education
Laura Hansen, Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (TN)
Duane Brown, AEM Corporation

The Georgia State Department of Education, Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (Tennessee), and the Common Education Data Standards (CEDS) Team will present on how standards, such as CEDS, are solving many of the challenges local education agencies and states face related to data management and use. An education world without any data standards at all is unimaginable. Join this session to explore how data standards impact everything from budgeting and resources to data collection and effective use of data, and what it means to take data standards to the next level.
 
Laura Hansen also served on a NCES Forum Workgroup that unveiled a new publication around Student Data Privacy, and can be found here: https://nces.ed.gov/forum/pub_2016096.asp

Margie Johnson's Sessions

Data-Use Standards for PK–12 Educators..............................
Richard Meyer, University of Nebraska Kearney
Margie Johnson, Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (TN)
Russ Masco, Nebraska Department of Education
Vicky Smith, Austin Peay University

The 15-State Data Use Standards Workgroup has created a resource detailing the foundational
knowledge, skills, and professional behaviors that educators need in order to use data in support
of student learning and success. In this session, workgroup members will debut a new set of
resources: an enhanced set of master standards by role, scenarios depicting the standards in
action in educational settings, and three case studies from members’ organizations. Workgroup
members will also describe how they and others are using the standards in their respective states
to improve educators (including pre-service and in-service educators) data literacy, and additional
plans for the 2016–17 school year.

The standards are accessible at https://slds.grads360.org/#program/data-use-standards.

The presentation slides are accessible at https://goo.gl/SJ5Dfj
 
Best Practice for Enhancing Collaborative Data Use in Schools.........................................
Margie Johnson, Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (TN)
Stephanie Wilkerson, Magnolia Consulting, LLC

Research demonstrates the positive effect collaboration has on student achievement. Of course,
fostering a culture of collaboration is easier said than done. Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools
(Tennessee), in partnership with Regional Educational Laboratory Appalachia, has been on a three year journey building middle school educators’ capacities to use data for leveraging collaborative
expertise throughout the organization. This session will provide participants with the best practices
and lessons learned for enhancing collaborative data-use practices.

The presentation slides are accessible at https://goo.gl/BJv7jc.