Goals of this project are to drive: (1) Increased use of SLDS data; (2) Smarter use of SLDS data and information; (3) Improved data-driven decision-making by stakeholders; and (4) Fully aligned education-to-workforce and teacher preparation-to classroom pipelines.
Major activities tied to this project will involve building on the state’s robust and successful SLDS (P20W data system) and the Educator Data Management System (TNCompass) to empower a series of stakeholders – students, parents, and counselors, Educator Preparation Program administrators, district leaders, and future teachers – to make decisions that ultimately result in improved educational outcomes for students. Specifically, within each priority area, Tennessee will integrate data from longitudinal systems into existing online portals that allow the stakeholders listed above to access immediately actionable information. The redesigned, data integrated portals will allow for a series of “nudges” and metrics intended to push stakeholders to make more meaningful use of the data in decisions, policies, and initiatives. These efforts, in turn, will assist the state in learning more about how to multiply the effects of such data-driven interventions and decision-makings.
Tennessee’s vision for transforming the education-to-workforce and teacher preparation-to classroom pipelines promises to deliver both immediate and long-term impacts. First, this strategy of aligned state action across multiple agencies, combined with robust research-to practice partnerships, will have an immediate impact upon the life choices of Tennessee students, as traditional barriers to the college-going process are removed for students and future educators are better prepared upon entering the profession. Second, the outcomes identified in this grant will have long-term impact on national policy, as Tennessee builds a body of actionable knowledge on the uses of data housed within state longitudinal systems. Taken together, Tennessee expects that the outcomes driven by activities in this grant will raise the quality of life for all its citizenry, while simultaneously inspiring national dissemination of proven practices in data-driven policymaking.
