Washington State P20W Studies in Educational Equity

The Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), the State Education Agency, in partnership with the Education Research and Data Center (ERDC) in the Office of Financial Management (OFM) submits this proposal for funding for approximately $3.25 million under funding opportunity CFDA 84.372 (NCES 19-01).

Washington State put in place a highly effective P20W data system at the ERDC with the aid of the 2009 ARRA P20W SLDS grant. A significant amount of analysis and dashboard building was also undertaken under that grant. Subsequent to that grant, ERDC has continued to incorporate new data collections and garner the interest of new research partners. The FY 2015 SLDS grant provided resources to ERDC and its partners to more quickly exploit the massive amounts of data available as well as create new research partnerships and cement old ones. The FY 2019 SLDS grant provides an important opportunity to put the investment in the ERDC's P20W data system to work supporting the research and analysis into educational equity of interest to the OSPI, other state educational agencies and state decision-makers and policymakers.

Funding received under this grant will be used to examine issues related to educational equity in the public educational systems of the state of Washington. The goal is for the ERDC and its research partners to utilize the P20W and related data from non-education sectors to produce more and better analysis and research that will effectively inform decision-makers. The ERDC will be responsible for the direction and implementation of the grant.

The analysis and research activities in the project are grouped in the following outcomes:

1. Education Paths for Special Student Populations;
2. Student Learning and Outcomes;
3. Equitable Access to Effective Educators;
4. Utilization of Social and Health Services by Student Populations; and,
5. School Discipline, Absence, and Juvenile Justice Involvement

A similar process of study will take place within each outcome group. First, there will be a data preparation phase. In this phase, ERDC will work with stakeholders to identify data needs, study cohorts and other nuances of the subject matter. This phase will result in research data sets with data documentation for use in the studies. The Second phase is basic analysis. ERDC will complete several descriptive analyses under each outcome group using the research data sets created in the data preparation phase. These analyses will address some of the critical research and policy questions in the outcome groups. If the results from the data preparation and the basic analysis phases reveal disproportionalities in equitable education opportunities, then deeper dives into the specific outcomes will be undertaken. At that time, the critical question will be answered, the policy goal and the quantitative method will be determined. Stakeholder input will also be critical in this third phase of analysis and research.