Variables included in the Dataset:
K-12
- Demographics
- School
- District
- Attendance/Dropout
- Grades/GPA
- Courses
- Test scores
- ACT/SAT
- Disciplinary action
- Teacher info (salaries, etc.)
Higher Education
- Demographics
- Type of college
- Enrollment
- Courses
- Major
- Grades
- Tuition/Scholarships
Workforce
- Demographics
- Salary
- Industry
Link:
http://pod.doe.in.gov/groups/datacollectionandreportinghelp/
http://www.doe.in.gov/accountability/find-school-and-corporation-data-reports
Date Inventory Completed: 5/21/15
Screening
- Is there data available for 2013?
- Can we access the data by August 15th? Unclear
Does this dataset appear to meet our needs for the Census study? UNDECIDED
Explanation: Unclear if the data links to workforce and higher education data. In order to access the student-level data, a request must be submitted. It is unclear how long this process would take.
Full Inventory
Purpose
- What is the purpose of the organization collecting the data?
They intend to provide residents with openness and transparency with regard to the overall performance of schools. Furthermore, public data about teachers and other educators provides accountability from the Department of Education to the residents of the state.
- Who else uses the data? (make a note if they sell the data to companies)
The data is used both for administrative purposes internally (i.e. providing free and reduced lunches to underprivileged students, turning around struggling schools) and also to inform the public through a variety of dashboards and graphs that can be viewed by anyone navigating to the Indiana Department of Education Compass.
Description
- What is the general topic of the data?
- K-12 Student Information
- Higher Education Student Information
- Workforce Information
- Longitudinal Education Information (includes K-12, Higher Ed, and/or Workforce)
- What are the earliest and latest dates for which data is available?
2015 for some variables. Not clear the earliest date of data collection.
- How soon after a reference period ends can a data source be prepared and provided?
Several months for aggregate level.
Method
- What is the data collection method (portal, other)?
Most school districts have set up Student Information Systems so that they can easily enter and track data throughout the year, then easily convert this to CSVs or XML files when the date for reporting comes.
- What is the raw source of the collected data (teacher, superintendent)?
Teachers keep track of information on individual students, then give it to their school.
Selectivity (conversely, the representativeness)
- What is the universe (e.g., population) that the data represents?
K-12 students attending Indiana public, non-public, and charter schools.
Stability/Coherence
- Note any changes to the universe of data being captured (e.g., including private schools).
Unknown
- Note any changes to the data capture method or sources of data.
Standards and specifics of what variables should be collected change/expand depending on the needs of the Indiana Department of Education’s needs. Revisions are detailed in the metadata of each data collection set.
Metadata
- Is there a description of each variable in the source along with their valid values?
Yes
- Are there unique IDs for unique elements that can be used for linking data?
Yes
- Can K-12 be linked to higher ed or higher ed to workforce?
Unknown
- Links to codebooks: http://pod.doe.in.gov/groups/datacollectionandreportinghelp/,
Accuracy
- Any known sources of error?
Unknown
- Describe any quality control checks performed by the state (or data manager).
The Indiana Department of Education has detailed guides to prevent improper data entry.
Accessibility
- How is the school-level data accessed (note if it needs to be screen scraped)?
School, district, and state level aggregate data are available at http://compass.doe.in.gov/, however this is only with variables the state has determined are important.
- How is the student-level data accessed?
Researchers must submit either an open records request to publicrecords@doe.in.gov to receive open records reports, or a data share request to datashare@doe.in.gov for data that isn’t publicly available, such as student level data. The request then goes to an executive committee for review after an e-mail process where an individual from the Office of Legal Counsel clarifies the request. It is unclear how long the process of review by the executive committee takes. Indiana has no further documentation on if MOUs or other contracts must be signed, or how the data is eventually delivered to researchers.
- Note if IRB is needed or any other restrictions on accessing data.
N/A
- Any records or fields collected, but not included in data source?
Some data are not available if there aren’t enough students in certain programs (like special education).
- Cost? - One time or annual or project based payment?
Unknown
Privacy and security
- Note any confidentiality policies or legal limitations other than FERPA:
N/A
- What do they consider personally identifiable information?
Unknown
Research
- What research has been done with this dataset?
School performance and college/career readiness
- Research links: http://www.doe.in.gov/idoe/idoe-data
Describe any other notes you have or any gaps/concerns you see with this dataset: