A modern statewide longitudinal data system

Ask any education leader or administrator what keeps them up at night, and you’ll hear them say they lose sleep over academics and being able to meet students’ needs. They ponder:

• Are we doing enough to accelerate student learning?
• What special education resources will be needed in the next five years?
• Which high school math courses lead to successful postsecondary outcomes?
• How early can we spot at-risk students, and what are the indicators of those in jeopardy of not graduating from high school?
• What future jobs will students need to be prepared for, and how can we best equip them?
• How will AI change education and student learning?

What could help school leaders? Data that is centrally collected, integrated, enriched and easy to analyze can help them tackle tough questions and make more confident decisions. So, what’s needed? A robust statewide longitudinal data system (SLDS). And SLDSs of the future will incorporate emerging technologies such as AI into data and analytics for decision making.