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contact Susanne Smith, (503) 947-5637
April 3, 2009
Oregon Department of Education Wins $3.7M Grant for Longitudinal Data Systems
State Schools Superintendent Susan Castillo announced that the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (USED IES) has awarded Oregon a $3.7 million grant to provide statewide formative assessment resources for our schools. The grant proposal was a collaborative effort between the Oregon Department of Education (ODE), the University of Oregon (UO), Oregon State University (OSU), schools of Education throughout the Oregon University System and the Educational Enterprise Steering Committee comprised of ODE, ESD, Districts and Postsecondary partners.
“This is great news for Oregon students. This grant allows us to continue our momentum towards building longitudinal data systems to help our teachers improve instruction. By analyzing data, teachers, administrators, and district staff can refine programs, target scarce funds, and sharply focus on techniques and strategies that have shown results for our students,” said Superintendent Castillo.
This funding will:
• Provide an online formative assessment toolset for grades K-8 using the Easy CBM application developed at University of Oregon
• Provide additional support for Oregon’s regional warehouses to deliver formative assessment data to teachers
• Support the creation of an educational policy data warehouse allowing researchers to access Oregon educational data for the purposes of improving student achievement
“This grant was intentionally designed to leverage the Oregon Legislature’s investments in the PK-12 Integrated Data Systems (KIDS) and the Longitudinal Growth Model. In addition, this new grant builds on the progress achieved through the Direct Access to Achievement Data (DATA) that was previously funded by another grant from the U.S. Department of Education in July of 2007,” said Doug Kosty, Assistant Superintendent of Assessment and Information Services. “Twenty-seven states were awarded grants in this round of funding. Oregon is nationally recognized as a leader in developing longitudinal data systems and we are very pleased to be selected for a second round of funding.”
In addition, the grant will help create an efficient system through which Oregon’s vast amount of data may be used to make better educational decisions and policies to help our students by physically co-locating ODE’s data systems at Oregon State University’s data center.
Why does Oregon need these funds?
Several Oregon school districts are currently developing or procuring formative assessment systems. These funds will allow all districts to have access to a common set of tools that are aligned to Oregon’s content standards and can be incorporated into their formative assessment systems. Formative Assessment is part of the instructional process. When incorporated into classroom practice, it informs both teachers and students about student understanding at a point when timely adjustments in instruction can be made. These adjustments help to ensure that students succeed academically.
The DATA project is a multi-tiered program of professional development focused on teaching educators how to collect, analyze and use appropriate data. It has been designed to provide statewide training and support for data-driven decision-making. The effective use of data is receiving national attention as the importance of measurable results in the school setting grows. Data can also help classroom teachers tailor their instruction to individual student needs, which has been proven to significantly increase student achievement. For more information go to: http://www.oregondataproject.org/.
What is being done now?
The Pre-Kindergarten thru Grade 16 Integrated Data System (KIDS) is a statewide system that is integrating different student information systems from across the state into a common data warehouse. KIDS will provide the Oregon Department of Education, school districts and the Oregon University System with a single, accurate, and authoritative student data system for the entire state, allowing seamless storage, access, and data transfer between districts and the state. The $8.3 million project, funded by the 2005 Legislature, is on track for fully implementing its data warehouse system in winter of 2010.
A comprehensive data system encompassing the entire PK-16 Oregon education system provides educators and stake-holders with a single, accurate, and authoritative data structure that streamlines data acquisition and reporting within the enterprise of education in the state. One of the benefits is an enhanced student transcript exchange across schools and districts to ensure that students are better served while at the same time promoting operational efficiency.
What additional opportunities are being offered as part of the stimulus package?
Additional grant opportunities totaling $250 million will be announced to states within 30 days. ODE is considering another proposal and is in discussion with the Governor’s Office, Community Colleges and Workforce Development and the Oregon University System.
Click here for more information on the Oregon statewide data system. Click here for more information regarding the IES Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) Grant Program.
Oregon Department of Education
255 Capitol Street NE Salem, OR 97310-0203
(503) 947-5600 | Fax: (503) 378-5156
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