1. Incorporating Early Childhood into Longitudinal Data Systems:
What, Why and How
Kathy Hebbeler, ECO at SRI International
Lynne Kahn, ECO at FPG
Presented at the OSEP Leadership Conference,
Washington, DC August 2009 1

2. Early Childhood Outcomes (ECO) Center
Initially, a 5-year project funded by OSEP in October 2003.
Funded again October 2008 for another 5 years.
Provide national leadership and technical assistance to states to advance the implementation of high-quality outcomes systems for early intervention and preschool special education programs.
Early Childhood Outcomes Center

3. Can your state answer these questions?
What percentage of children who received early intervention services are receiving special education services in kindergarten?
For how many years do children who first receive special education services as preschoolers receive special education services? How many receive services in Grade 1? Grade 3?
What percentage of children who received special education services as preschoolers are reading at grade level in Grade 3?
How does this percentage differ across districts or regions?
Early Childhood Outcomes Center

4. States have exciting new data about EC Special Education programs!!
In February, 2010, states will report data to OSEP on the effectiveness of their Part B Section 619 programs (APR Indicator B7)
This data can provide a foundation for a longer look at children’s success in school and in life
Early Childhood Outcomes Center

5. New information on the progress children make in EC programs
Questions you can ask:
What percentage of these children later receive SpEd services?
How do these children perform on assessments in Grade 3? Grade 8? HS?
Do they graduate?
What you will know:
Which children leave preschool 619 services functioning at age expectations
Early Childhood Outcomes Center

6. New information on the progress children make in EC programs
Questions you can ask:
Do these children continue to catch up in Sp Ed services in the early grades?
How long do these children continue to be eligible for Sp Ed services?
How do these children perform on Grade 3 assessments? Grade 8?
What you will know:
Which children increase their rate of growth with preschool 619 services, but don’t catch up to age expectations
Early Childhood Outcomes Center

7. New information on the progress children make in EC programs
Questions you can ask:
What proportion of the time do these children participate in regular classrooms in grade 3? Grade 8?
What proportion participate in statewide assessments?
What you will know:
Which children leave preschool 619 services with the most significant service and support needs
Early Childhood Outcomes Center

8. Where the new information comes from
OSEP Reporting Requirements: Child Outcomes (Indicator C3 and B7)
% of Children who make progress in:
Positive social emotional skills (including positive social relationships)
Acquisition and use of knowledge and skills (including early language/ communication [and early literacy])
Use of appropriate behaviors to meet their needs
Early Childhood Outcomes Center

9. OSEP Child Outcome Reporting: Categories of Child Progress
Percentage of children who:
a. Did not improve functioning
b. Improved functioning, but not sufficient to move nearer to functioning comparable to same-aged peers
c. Improved functioning to a level nearer to same-aged peers but did not reach it
d. Improved functioning to reach a level comparable to same-aged peers
e. Maintained functioning at a level comparable to same-aged peers
3 outcomes x 5 “measures” = 15 numbers
Early Childhood Outcomes Center

11. Children Identified for Services Under IDEA by Age (2005)
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
Number
N = 7,005,463
Infants and toddlers N = 294,714
60,238
94,445
153,320 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Age
Total number
411,206
487,806
508,789
519,151
299,772
519,394
417,249
13,348
41,865
158,404
245,526
361,130
453,485
503,519
513,795
521,054
484,057
209,320
28,590
Conventional wisdom was that the children identified under 1 became next year’s children, the under 2, etc., because these were the children with the most severe disabilities. But one can’t tell long term or even short tern outcomes from cross-sectional data.
(From IDEAdata.org)

12. Changing service needs
Status of former early intervention recipients in Kindergarten
(from the National Early Intervention Longitudinal Study (NEILS))
Early Childhood Outcomes Center

13. Changing Service Needs
Among 3, 4, and 5 year olds receiving special education,
One year later, 16% were no longer receiving special education
A year after that, another 13% were no longer receiving special education
(from the Pre-Elementary Longitudinal Study (PEELS)
Early Childhood Outcomes Center

15. From: Inequality at the Starting Gate (data from ECLS-K)

16. Early Childhood Matters
Intervene early to reduce the gap
Is this happening in your state?
Where?
With which children?
How do you know EC services are making a difference? For how long?
Effective early childhood services cannot inoculate children against poor instruction later.
Early Childhood Outcomes Center

17. A State Example: Colorado’s Results Matter
Purpose
to positively influence the lives of children and families by using child, family, program and system outcomes data to inform early childhood practices and policy
Components
Authentic Assessment
Longitudinal Analysis
Family Outcomes
Service and Program Quality Measures
Professional Development
Early Childhood Outcomes Center

18. Longitudinal Data Reading Writing Math
Science
Science
This is reflective of the progress of a group of CPP children on the CSAP who attended preschool in Children have been tracked through 10th grade in multiple subjects.
DPS is large enough to have a good sample size, which is needed for both statistical power and to allow for children moving out of the district.
DPS is also large enough that they can contract with a statistician/researcher to do this type of analysis.
Thanks to Nick Ortiz of Colorado’s Results Matter and John Crawford of the Denver Public Schools for these data. 18

19. Longitudinal Data Reading Math Writing
This is reflective of how multiple cohorts of children (attending preschool in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002) performed on CSAP assessments in 5th grade.
Thanks to Nick Ortiz of Colorado’s Results Matter and John Crawford of the Denver Public Schools for these data. 19

20. Making Good Use of Data: Some Necessary Ingredients
Set of good questions
Data set with the required elements
Analytic capability to analyze the data to address the question
Commitment to use the information for program improvement
Early Childhood Outcomes Center

21. Information Infrastructure: Data Needed for Program Improvement
WHO
SERVICES
OUTCOMES
QUALITY
COST
Early Childhood Outcomes Center

22. Early Childhood Outcomes Center
Where is your state now?
WHO
SERVICES
OUTCOMES
What do you have?
How much is linked?
Early Childhood Outcomes Center

23. Tracking outcomes over time
WHO
SERVICES
COST
QUALITY
OUTCOMES
Grade 2
Tracking outcomes over time
WHO
SERVICES
COST
QUALITY
OUTCOMES
Grade 1
WHO
SERVICES
COST
QUALITY
OUTCOMES
Kindergarten
WHO
SERVICES
COST
QUALITY
OUTCOMES
Preschool

24. Building Longitudinal Data Sets
Need a data set that includes general and special education*
Goal: Include data on young children with disabilities (starting at birth) in the data set
*because of the movement in and out of special education
Early Childhood Outcomes Center

25. Resources Data Quality Campaign www.dataqualitycampaign.org
DQC just beginning to focus on early childhood
Early Childhood Outcomes Center

26. Early Childhood Outcomes Center
Funding Sources
for Longitudinal Data Systems
Early Childhood Outcomes Center

27. Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems Grants (IES)
$250 million
Grants are for 3 to 5 years for up to $9 million; due November 19, 2009
2005 – 14 states; 2007 – 12; 2009 – 27
Many states planning to include preschool
Early Childhood Outcomes Center

28. Other funding opportunities
State Incentive Grants (i.e., Race to the Top) - $4.35 billion
Title I Funds - $13 billion
Head Start - $1 billion
State Advisory Councils on Early Childhood Education
“develop recommendations for a unified data collection system for public early childhood programs and services throughout the state”
Early Childhood Outcomes Center

29. Early Childhood Outcomes Center
See Data Quality Campaign’s Roadmap
for more information
Early Childhood Outcomes Center

30. Extraordinary Opportunity
Special education leadership needs to:
Work to ensure Part C and 619 are/will be part of the state’s early childhood data system
Work to ensure early childhood data are/will be linked to K-12
Early Childhood Outcomes Center

31. Visit us at www.the-eco-center.org

33. EC Outcomes Data: new data showing program effectiveness
Question 1: How many children changed growth trajectories during their time in the program?
Summary Statement 1: Of those children who [entered the program] below age expectations in each Outcome, the percent who substantially increased their rate of growth by the time they turned 6 years of age or exited the program.
Early Childhood Outcomes Center

34. EC Outcomes Data: new data showing program effectiveness
Concept 2: How many children were functioning like same aged peers when they left the program?
Summary Statement 2: The percent of children who were functioning within age expectations in each Outcome by the time they turned 6 years of age or exited the program
Note: In February 2010, states will set targets for the percentages in these summary statements
Early Childhood Outcomes Center