TEAchME - Tools for Educational Achievement in Maine

The Maine Department of Education requests grant funding in the amount of $3,227,231 to support its ongoing efforts to design, develop and implement a longitudinal data system that stakeholders can draw upon to make well-informed decisions about improving student achievement.

The existing Maine Educational Data Management System (MEDMS) assigns unique state student identifiers and collects limited enrollment data, but by itself MEDMS does not collect sufficient student level data to adequately analyze student performance. Assessment, special education and other program data, and student grades and attendance data reside in multiple silos located at the Department of Education, LEAs, and third-party vendor sites. Without a central repository of high quality, validated and consistent data, Maine can not make data-driven decisions to improve student outcomes.

In determining the requirements for the TEAchME longitudinal data system project, the Department focused on the gaps identified in the 2006 NCEA Data Collection Survey Results for Maine as part of the Data Quality Campaign. Maine scored well in only three of the ten elements. In addition to the survey components, the Department identified a need to address EDEN reporting and training inadequacies.

The TEAchME project is designed to meet or exceed the Data Quality Campaign Elements, enable timely and accurate EDEN reporting, and provide training to stakeholders both in collecting and reporting quality data and how to interpret data to make well-informed research-based decisions.

The project design includes:

• Representation, support and involvement from all key stakeholders,
• Strong commitment of resources from the Department of Education and the State Office of Information Technology,
• Expedited process for employing qualified third-party contractors, and
• Collaboration with LEAs, the Maine Higher Education Council, and the Arizona and Connecticut Departments of Education.

The TEAchME project along with other State funded longitudinal data related initiatives will provide Maine with the necessary decision-support tools to address the needs of students in the PreK–12 schools and better prepare them for postsecondary education.