PCG has extensive experience in the development, maintenance, and support of secure, statewide longitudinal data systems (SLDS) that streamline and automate federally mandated education data collection and reporting for states. As your state examines the shifting federal requirements for data collection and accountability under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) State Plan Application, PCG can be an experienced thought partner, working with your team to identify and support the unique needs of your state plans.
Our technologies, operational supports, and consulting services ease the burden on districts and schools while supporting high data quality and actionable reporting for those who can best apply this information to ensure student success and performance improvement. PCG understands that developing an effective, sustainable SLDS is a human capital initiative as much as a technical implementation. ESSA plans must incorporate not only robust software but also professional development, coaching, and Help Desk support.
As an active leader in the data standards community, we reflect the needs of our clients and help them ensure alignment of PCG solutions with federal reporting initiatives such as EDFacts and Generate. PCG colleagues were among the small group of collaborators—including the U.S. Department of Education and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO)—in the creation of the National Education Data Model, which later became known Common Education Data Standards (CEDS).
Our teams remain actively engaged in the communities that are informing, driving, and supporting the national CEDS work, the Center for the Improvement of IDEA Data (CIID), and its EDFacts modernization efforts. We have strong, objective, and collaborative relationships with many of the vendors (e.g., AEM) and associations (e.g., A4L, Ed-Fi Alliance, etc.) that are helping states move information quickly and confidently from the local to state to federal level, while helping ensure quality, privacy, and security.
Our staff are active leaders and participants in the evolving interoperability standards communities (such as Ed-Fi, SIF, IMS Global); staff members serve on management boards and advisory groups and present at national conferences on a regular basis.
As your state seeks to modernize data collection and reporting in ways that align local systems and federal reporting initiatives to alleviate the burden and improve trust and quality in your data, PCG is an experienced, knowledgeable partner who can help guide and augment your team’s efforts.
PCG’s services in this area include:
Unique Identifier Assignment and Management
PCG offers states a proven system for high quality unique identifier management across K-12, higher education, and workforce analysis and reporting. Through PCG’s system, states can confidently develop and securely maintain millions of unique longitudinal records for students and staff members in a manner that is compliant with state and federal law.
Statewide Data Collection for EDFacts and IPEDS Reporting
PCG works with state education agencies and school districts to streamline the labor intensive demands of federal EDFacts and IPEDS reporting. By leveraging PCG’s proven processes and systems, school districts and state education agencies can analyze current data collection efforts, eliminate redundant collections and data elements (data audits), and develop efficient statewide collection systems to ensure quality, consistency, and confidence in data.
Adjusted Cohort High School Graduation Calculations and Reporting
PCG supports states’ student level calculation of adjusted cohort graduation rates. These calculations satisfy federal and public reporting requirements under ESSA and can provide local education agencies with real-time, actionable data by subgroup and other student characteristics.
Post-Secondary Enrollment Reporting
PCG’s systems provide states and districts with accurate, secure intelligence about the post-secondary performance of their former high school students. PCG’s state system can reflect back to school districts their former students’ successes in higher education (at in-state, out of state, public, private, 2-year, and 4-year institutions). Such state level services save local education agencies hundreds of thousands of dollars while providing invaluable insight to post-secondary enrollment, remediation, and achievement in a way that is consistent and aligned with your state plan for implementing ESSA.
Student and Teacher Growth Calculations and Reporting
PCG assists states in the calculation of student level growth scores, linking students to teachers, and the calculation of teacher growth scores for use in professional development and performance improvement investments and decisions. By linking individual student growth with attendance, discipline, and additional key performance indicators, PCG provides districts and state agencies with actionable reporting to help close achievement gaps, recognize students who are at risk of graduating on time, and developing teacher and principle evaluation systems that help drive continued performance improvement for students and staff.
Electronic Transcripts
PCG provides states with a trusted mechanism to ensure the timely, secure storage and exchange of vital student information (e.g., course taking, grade information) across various local education agencies as students and families change schools. PCG’s systems streamline the data collection process, providing states with consistent application that offers schools immediate access to longitudinal data. Schools can then use this data to help inform student placement and supports as students transfer across districts within a given state.
At-Risk Student Reporting (Early Warning Systems)
PCG’s Early Warning Systems offer states the ability to provide their districts with actionable information about those students who may be at risk of not graduating on time. By providing a research-driven approach to blending performance, attendance and disciplinary data, PCG’s system helps states and districts identify and support individual students who may need additional support and intervention.
Business Intelligence Tools and One-Click Reporting
PCG works with states and districts to develop easily consumable reports and visualizations that provide instant insight to key questions about student and school performance. Through PCG’s system, state and district users can leverage a suite of one-click “district reports” to answer specific questions that have been articulated by principals, curriculum coordinators, and superintendents, providing each with actionable data to inform and guide policy, programs and practice at the state, district and school level.
Professional Development and Coaching
PCG’s proven professional development tracks and coaching services focus on the two most critical components of any successful data system: Data Quality and Data Use. By actively engaging data managers and those who apply the data in guided instruction and hands on activities, PCG subject matter experts build local capacity to ensure high quality and timely data collection in meeting your state obligations under ESSA; while building the necessary skills and comfort level of practitioners (teachers, coordinators, principals, superintendents) to effectively integrate data into their respective daily duties as educators and leaders.
SLDS Help Desk and User Training
PCG provides support of data managers and data consumers at the state and local level through a robust help desk program that can wrap around any SLDS. Emphasizing the fact that an SLDS is as much a human capital project as it is a technology initiative, PCG performs inquiry management, routine live online trainings for system users, and outreach and communications support for states. It is this distinction that separates PCG from other potential vendors. PCG’s partners continue to benefit greatly as they engage more confidently in the informed use of education data to drive policy and performance improvement in satisfying federal and state legislation, SLDS and Race to the Top grants, and ESSA state plans.