FAQs
• What is the Oregon DATA Project?
The Oregon DATA Project is a statewide initiative designed to improve student achievement by collecting, analyzing and using longitudinal data to inform individual instruction. At the district and classroom levels, teachers will be able to use formative data to design effective curricula for their students.
• Why does Oregon need the DATA Project?
Oregon school districts currently collect information about students and staff into electronic databases. Portions of these data are delivered to the state Department of Education in order to meet compliance requirements. In most cases, however, that is the limit of the use of these data. Data are not aggregated, shared, analyzed or effectively used as a part of improving student achievement.
• What is being done now?
School districts and regional Education Service Districts are beginning to make investments in regional data warehouses and starting to train teachers and administrators how to use data to inform instruction. The Oregon Legislature is making an $8.4 million investment in a project that facilitates compliance reporting and the movement of standardized student transcripts horizontally across the state. The Pre-Kindergarten thru Grade 16 Integrated Data System (KIDS) is an enterprise-level data warehouse with standardized business rules for transporting, securing, managing and using data.
• How will the DATA Project fit in?
The Oregon DATA Project (Direct Access to Achievement) is intended to add significant value to the foundation being built through the state's ongoing investments in data quality. It will do so by strengthening the structure of the longitudinal data system that is growing already at the state level, and by providing stakeholders with comprehensive training and informed access to data.
• What will The DATA Project look like?
The outcomes of the project will include a system of regional data warehouses containing highly aggregated local and state level data, coupled with professional development that will allow teachers and administrators to effectively engage in ad-hoc query and analysis of instructionally relevant student-level data from nearly anywhere in the state.
