K-12 Statewide Longitudinal Data System
OSPI is expanding its reporting and business intelligence (BI) capabilities, including automated
reports, dashboards, and interactive query tools. We seek to acquire a transfer or comparable
product �" a product developed and in production in another education institution that can be
customized with Consultant assistance. This solution will be used as Washington‟s presentation
interface and technical framework for displaying OSPI longitudinal data as actionable information
to stakeholders including: students, educators, parents, administrators, policy makers, public, and
researchers. This solution will increase data-driven decision making at all levels in education.
Washington State is not alone in this endeavor. All states are working toward transforming from
allocation based operating systems to performance driven systems, per guidance from the US
Department of Education and their state legislatures.
Historically, Washington State‟s education data collections and systems have been used almost
exclusively to determine funding allocations, to meet federal reporting requirements, to monitor
compliance with state and federal regulations, to document educator certification, and for fiscal
accountability. These data collection systems for individual programs, such as certification and
school district apportionment, were created and maintained in different and isolated data systems
where linking and analyzing joined data was cumbersome and in some cases not possible. With
improvements in computing systems, it is now technically possible to collect, transmit, store,
analyze, and report student, financial, and educator data in ways that could not be imagined
twenty years ago.
Additionally, there is enormous potential for improving data reporting and information systems in
ways that will improve state, school, district, and classroom decision-making. This fact was
recognized by the Washington State Legislature when it adopted Part 2 of ESHB 2261 in 2009.
This bill mandates the creation of a comprehensive K-12 education data improvement system for
financial, student, and educator data. The objectives of this system are to monitor student
progress, have information on the quality of the educator workforce, monitor and analyze the costs
of programs, provide for financial integrity and accountability, and have the capability to link across
these various data components by student, by class, by teacher, by school, by district, and
statewide. These efforts are further embodied in the K-12 statewide longitudinal data system grant
from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) that OSPI received in April of 2009 to
help fund the transformation of its data systems.
Additional documents: http://www.k12.wa.us/rfp/default.aspx
