Mississippi Receives $7 Million Grant to Develop Education Data System
NEWS RELEASE
Release Date: May 26, 2010
Mississippi receives $7 million grant to develop education data system
Jackson, Miss. - The Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S.
Department of Education has awarded Mississippi a $7.6 million grant for
the design and implementation of a statewide longitudinal data system.
Mississippi was among 20 state education departments selected to
receive the grant, which is funded through the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.
“Once this system is in place, it will be an invaluable tool, not
only for education, but also for multiple other applications,” said
Governor Haley Barbour. “The state will be able to measure the
effectiveness of education. It will provide policymakers with the
necessary data to know where tax dollars are getting a good return on
their investment, and it will allow us to quickly access information
about the educational attainment and availability of a
specifically-trained workforce.”
Building a robust longitudinal data system will help Mississippi track
students from early childhood through K-12 and postsecondary education
and into their careers while protecting student privacy and
confidentiality consistent with applicable privacy protection laws.
“We are extremely appreciative to receive these funds as they will
help Mississippi develop a statewide system to share data and to create
a seamless process, at all levels of education, and into the workforce
to track the progress of our students,” State Superintendent of
Education Dr. Tom Burnham said.
"Integrating K-12 data with information from our community colleges and
universities, and also industries, will tell us what parts of workforce
education are working well and where our state needs to improve," said
Dr. Eric Clark, Executive Director of the State Board for Community and
Junior Colleges. "A longitudinal data system will help us track and
measure what training produces better jobs and higher pay for our
citizens."
In tough economic times, this becomes even more important, Commissioner
of Higher Education Dr. Hank Bounds said.
"Making decisions about how to allocate resources in a way that they
will make the most difference depends on our ability to gather and
analyze quality data," Dr. Bounds said. "This new data system will help
Mississippi's educational systems work better together to serve our
students and the state."
State Longitudinal Data Systems grants were authorized by the
Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002 and the first grants were
awarded in 2005. The 2009 ARRA grantees were selected in a competition
based on the merit of the applicants' proposals and the funding
available for the program. An independent peer review panel evaluated
the proposals on the aspects, including the need for the project,
project goals and outcomes, activities and timeline, management and
governance, and personnel and financial resources.
“This grant will enable us to extend our longitudinal study in all
elements of education in Mississippi,” Chairman of the State Workforce
Investment Board (SWIB) Larry Otis said. “We look forward to using
the information to provide better workforce opportunities for our
students.”
In total, $250 million was awarded this year through the SLDS grant
competition. States received varying award sizes based on differing
needs and requests.
