This proposal describes how the State of New Jersey will use grant funds toward infrastructure and interoperability goals that will expand capacity for using longitudinal data to make evidence-driven policy decisions.
The work proposed for this grant is designed to fulfill the needs in New Jersey to (1) improve infrastructure for State Education Agency (SEA)-Local Education Agency (LEA) interoperability, (2) establish interoperability between the SEA and the P20W New Jersey Statewide Data System (NJSDS), (3) further promote use of P20W data for evidence-based policymaking, and (4) expand the data sources contributing to the capacity for using data in the P20W NJSDS.
In order to meet these needs, the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) is submitting this grant application to assist with its ongoing mission to support schools, educators, and districts to ensure all of New Jersey’s 1.4 million students have equitable access to high-quality education and achieve academic excellence. To achieve this, NJDOE seeks to enhance the quality and scope of K-12 data available for analysis in New Jersey’s P20W NJSDS. The following outcomes relate to the proposed improvements to infrastructure and interoperability and will be completed by the end of the grant period:
• Interoperability of SEA-LEA data
• Interoperability of SEA data to the NJSDS
• Expanded use of P20W data for evidence-based policymaking
• Expanded data sources in NJSDS
Multiple state agencies have committed to collaborating with one another to make progress toward these outcomes so that New Jersey can best utilize its P20W longitudinal data to improve policies that impact students, workers, residents, and other stakeholders. Considering that integration efforts involve both single-agency and multi-agency data systems, the State will coordinate this work by relying on its talented experts across agencies, strong inter-agency relationships, and well established governance structures.
The goals involved with this grant will improve data quality, collection, integration, and accessibility for agencies within New Jersey. Making progress on each of these outcomes will enhance the entire State system. This synergy among agencies and data systems will allow New Jersey to utilize P20W data more thoughtfully to improve the educational experience and outcomes for all students.
