Special Education Student and School Data Study

Client: Illinois State Board of Education

Dates: 5/2003 - 12/2003

In May 2003, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) awarded a contract to MSF&W to identify, enhance, and align special education student and school data and develop a framework for integrating and analyzing critical indicators with the Illinois Continuous Improvement Plan (ICIP). More specifically, MSF&W was hired to:

• review the special education data elements identified by the Illinois State Board of Education Student Information System (ISBE SIS) Feasibility Project team and make recommendations for the inclusion of additional data elements in the ISBE SIS,
• identify areas of concern involving special education data quality through site visits with Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and analysis of data files and recommend measures to improve this data quality,
• develop a process for providing greater awareness among LEAs, parents, and the public about key indicators on the status of students with disabilities, including recommendations for graphically profiling district and statewide special education data, and
• prepare recommendations for developing a risk assessment methodology.

MSF&W assembled a diverse team of educational and information technology professionals, providing an exceptional collection of talent uniquely suited for the project. The team visited twenty schools, districts, special education cooperatives, and regional offices of education to assess local data quality and met with staff – administrators, teachers, and secretaries – who were involved with the collection, data entry, and verification of special education data that are sent to the State.

The development of recommendations for a risk assessment methodology focused on the identification and assessment of measurable indicators for use in Illinois. Specifically, the project identified critical performance indicators (CPIs), defined uniform benchmarks to which CPIs can be compared, defined a methodology for applying the results of the CPI analysis in a meaningful manner, and designed required monitoring and reporting mechanism to identify LEAs within the lower 10% when measured against the benchmarks.

Finally, methods of reporting special education data to LEAs and the public were developed. The Annual State Report on Special Education Performance and LEA Special Education Profile were designed and prototyped. These reports, when implemented by ISBE, will provide valuable information to the public on the performance of districts, special education cooperatives and the State with regard to special education results.