2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference 1 R ESEARCHER A CCESS TO THE SLDS Monday, October 29, 2012 Kathy Gosa, Kansas Department of Education Bethann.

2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference 1

RESEARCHER ACCESS TO THE SLDS

Monday, October 29, 2012

Kathy Gosa, Kansas Department of Education

Bethann Canada, Virginia Department of Education

2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference

• Overview: Supporting Data Access for Researchers

• Kansas

• Virginia

• Questions & Answers

OVERVIEW

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• Recommends a set of “core” practices, operations, and templates that can be adapted and adopted by SEAs

•Focuses recommendations ono Managing the flow of data requestso Establishing response prioritieso Monitoring appropriate useo Protecting privacyo Ensuring that research is beneficial

to the agency as well as the research community

•Collaborationo National Center for Education

Statistics (NCES)o National Center for Education n

Evaluation & Regional Assistance (NCEE)

FORUM GUIDE TO SUPPORTING DATA ACCESS FOR RESEARCHERS: AN SEA PERSPECTIVE

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• Data are an integral component of our education system

• Most SEAs view responding to requests for data as a major responsibility to their stakeholders and a wise investment in education

• Partnerships with researchers can lead to numerous tangible benefits to education agencies, such as:o Encouraging research projects that reflect an education

agency’s information needs and prioritieso Supporting data-driven decision-making by educators and

policymakerso Providing an SEA with access to additional research,

statistical, and program expertiseo Building the research skills of SEA staff who will work with

members of the research community while reviewing and servicing data requests

DATA PARTNERSHIPS

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• Data governance• Data sharing infrastructure • Priorities and goals of the agency• Recognize the numerous dimensions of a

research proposalo Which data are being requested and for what purpose?o Are requested data appropriate to address the

research question(s)?o Which data are actually available from the agency?o Which data can be shared?o Which data need to be masked, de-identified, or

otherwise altered to protect individual privacy?

FOUNDATIONS FOR DATA-SHARING

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• Supplying data to the research community comes at a cost to the SEAo Responding to the growing volume of data requests can

become a full-time job for one or more staff memberso There are also practical concerns about sharing education

data • Confidentiality and security issues• Data ownership conflicts• Concern regarding the potential for misusing or misinterpreting

data

• Resource allocationo Staff time required to establish an infrastructure, implement

core data sharing practices, and manage and monitor requests can create a significant resource burden for an SEA

• Data limitationso Data collected by SEAs are intended for specific purposes

and may not necessarily meet the precise needs of research projects.

CHALLENGES TO SHARING DATA

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KANSAS

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Data Request / Access Process• Requests are submitted online http://

www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=4201

• Overseen by Data Request Review Board (DRRB)o Reports to Data Governance Boardo DRRB is 5 member Board representing agency Divisionso Meets monthly in person; ad hoc virtually

• Review status of routine requests• Approval of denials, charges, and non-routine requests• All requests for PII must be presented to DRRB

o Mission … to implement processes for the provision of accurate, timely data and information to our internal and external customers while protecting personally identifiable student information and other confidential information.

o Provides consistent treatment of data requestso Considers, prioritizes and assigns requests for data

KANSAS

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http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=4201



Data Request / Access Process• Defined Roles

o Data Request Review Boardo Request Managero Data Stewardo General Counselo Requestero Customero Agency Staff

KANSAS

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Data Request / Access Process• Decisions

o Routine or requires DRRB action?• Data Availability?

• Do we have it?• Is it publically available?

• KORA?• Restricted Data?• Charge?

• Reformatting• Requires significant staff time

• Alignment with State Research Agenda / BOE Goals?

KANSAS

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Data Request / Access Process• Decisions (continued)

o Routine or requires DRRB action?o Requests handled as Routine are summarized and

reviewed by DRRB monthlyo DRRB must approve

• Requests for which fees are charged• Denials• Requests involving PII / Restricted Data

• PIA is assigned • Requester is invited to attend/defend

KANSAS

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Streamlining the Process with Researchers• Why?

o Research aligns with state research agendao More efficient for us!

• How?o Training

KANSAS

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Module 1: All Data Requests Module 2: Restricted Use Data Requests

1. KSDE’s Data Request Process2. KSDE Data Collection Overview3. Public Data Sources Website

Navigation4. Metadata5. Ethical Use of Education Data

1. KSDE’s Data Access & Use Policy for Personally-Identifiable Student Information

2. Data Reporting Practices3. Best Practices for the Storage &

Destruction of Data based upon KSDE’s PII Agreement


Streamlining the Process with Researchers• How? (continued)

o Training http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=4201

KANSAS

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Videos

Exercises(includes opt out)




Streamlining the Process with Researchers• How? (continued)

o Training http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=4201

o Primary Investigator Advocate (PIA)o Assigned when “supported” research request is submittedo Assists the researcher in navigating our processo Provides summary to DRRB

o Templates/Agreements/Formso FERPA Agreement templateo Data destruction template

KANSAS

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Critical Success Factors• Automated

trackingo Essential for

FERPA Recordation

o Greatly enhances efficiency

o Informs priorities for public reporting

KANSAS

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Critical Success Factors (continued)• Automated tracking• Centralized request process with defined

roles• Process for routine requests and for

exceptions• Process for prioritization and denial

Miscellaneous• Request History Report http://

www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=83

• Follow-up is a challenge!

KANSAS

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Virginia

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Data Access Policy for non-sensitive dataNon-sensitive data is published on the web

with cell suppressionCheck out our data for researchers page

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/statistics_reports/research_data/index.shtml

“Service Request Tracking System”Ad Hoc/FOIA requests are logged and trackedAll requests must be approved by a director

VIRGINIA

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Data Access Policy for PIIA contract must nearly always be in placeA Restricted Use Data Agreement (RUDA)

must be in place• Specifies the data, data protection plan,

data destruction plan• Each individual accessing must sign a

non-disclosure agreementThe RUDA must have 3 internal reviewers

VIRGINIA

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The federated modelState law does not allow us to house multi-agency data in

a single data storeThe data must be de-identified, merged by a 3rd party, then

de-identified again (double de-identification)The participating agencies (Data Governance Council)had

to agree on• A research agenda• The approvals needed for researchers to request data

Data requests are made by the researcher through a portalMicrosoft Dynamics CRM manages the workflow behind the

scenesResearch purpose must “fit” the research agendaAll agencies whose data is being requested must approve

VIRGINIA

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The initial research agendaHow can Virginia improve high school graduation rates

while increasing students' preparation for college and careers?

How can Virginia improve the preparation, recruitment, and retention of Virginia's educational personnel, including their meaningful and ongoing professional development, especially in teacher shortage areas and in hard-to-staff schools?

How can Virginia improve performance of the public workforce system?

By what means can Virginia's public workforce development system meet the needs of job seekers/workers and employers?

VIRGINIA

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The current participating agenciesDepartment of EducationState Council on Higher EducationVirginia Community College System

(Workforce)Virginia Employment Commission

VIRGINIA

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VIRGINIA

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Researcher visits VLDS Web Portal

Researcher contacts Agency Sponsor(Email or Phone)

Agency Sponsor creates Contact,

and initiates portal user account

Agency Sponsor views Researcher Information and

Approves/Rejects request

Researcher selects Data Elements,

updates RUDA and submits for

Approval/Rejection

Researcher Accesses DRT and builds Data

Requests

Researcher updates Research Purpose information and

submits for Approval

Researcher submits Data Package(s)

Agency Sponsor reviews Data Package and

Approves/Rejects

Shaker runs, Result data is returned

Agency Sponsor Reviews /

Downloads Results

Researcher Reviews /

Downloads Results

Agency Sponsor views RUDA and

Approves/Rejects

Researcher Submits Research Artifact(s)

Agency Sponsor reviews Research

Artifact and Approves/Rejects

(if applicable)

Researcher completes VLDS portal account

Legend

Researcher / Portal

Agency / Workflow

Outside of VLDS System

Partner Agencies view RUDA and Approve/Reject

Shaker

Researcher Submits request to close the Research Purpose

Agency Sponsor reviews request and

Approves/Rejects

Process Steps


Contact information:Bethann Canada, [email protected]

Kathy Gosa, [email protected]

Keith Brown, [email protected]

Jeff Sellers, [email protected]

For more information on researcher access to the SLDS:

Data Use Issue Brief 2: Forming Research Partnerships with State and Local Education Agencies: http://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/pdf/Data-Use-Issue-Brief-2_Research-Partnerships.pdf

Webinar: Using SLDS Data ⎼Working with Researchers: http://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/webinars.asp

Forum Publications: Forum Guide to Supporting Data Access for Researchers: https://nces.ed.gov/forum/publications.asp

CONTACTS & ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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mailto:[email protected]




http://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/pdf/Data-Use-Issue-Brief-2_Research-Partnerships.pdf

http://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/pdf/Data-Use-Issue-Brief-2_Research-Partnerships.pdf

http://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/webinars.asp

https://nces.ed.gov/forum/publications.asp

2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference 1 R ESEARCHER A CCESS TO THE SLDS Monday, October 29, 2012 Kathy Gosa, Kansas Department of Education Bethann.

Documents

data access

data appropriate

data need

research proposalwhich

datasharing52012 slds

education data confidentiality

data governance boarddrrb

core data sharing practices