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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2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference
• 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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2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference
• 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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2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference
• 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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2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference
• 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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2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference
KANSAS
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2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference
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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2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference
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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2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference
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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2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference
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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2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference
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
2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference
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)
2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference
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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2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference
Critical Success Factors• Automated
trackingo Essential for
FERPA Recordation
o Greatly enhances efficiency
o Informs priorities for public reporting
KANSAS
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2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference
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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2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference
Virginia
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2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference
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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2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference
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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2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference
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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2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference
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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2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference
The current participating agenciesDepartment of EducationState Council on Higher EducationVirginia Community College System
(Workforce)Virginia Employment Commission
VIRGINIA
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2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference
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
2012 SLDS P-20W Best Practice Conference
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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