I just received this so I haven’t had a chance to read it but I will. Just in case you are interested….

The 2013 State of States’ Early Childhood Data Systems report, released by the Early Childhood Data Collaborative, is based on a survey of 50 states and the District of Columbia, assessing the coordination of their early childhood data systems. The survey was completed by state education, health and social services program staff and focused on states’ capacity to securely link child-level ECE data, collect state-level child screening and assessment data, and use of coordinated ECE data. The report found that, although federal and state agencies fund an array of early care and education (ECE) services and collect data documenting those services, most states could do much more to link this data to guide decision-making for programs serving young children.

The main findings from the report show:

• In 49 states and the District of Columbia, child-level data across different ECE programs are not all currently linked.
• Only one state – Pennsylvania – can link child-data across all ECE programs and to the state’s K-12 data system.
• There are 26 states securely linking ECE child-level data across two or more publicly funded early care and education programs.
• States’ coordinated ECE data systems are more likely to link data for children participating in state pre-kindergarten and preschool special education than children in Hear Start or subsidized child care programs.
• 30 states reported securely linking ECE child-level data to the states’ K-12 data, compared to 20 states that link ECE child-level data to social services data and 12 states that link ECE child-level data to states’ health data.
• 36 states collect state-level child development data from ECE programs and 29 states capture kindergarten entry assessment data.
• 32 states have designated an ECE data governance entity to guide the development and use of a state coordinated longitudinal ECE data system.

 

To read the report in its entirety, click here.