Early Childhood Data System (ECDS) for Kindergarten Data, Public Prekindergarten, and Private Prekindergarten Providers

The Early Childhood Data System (ECDS) is a state reporting feature in the Texas Student Data System (TSDS). Unless specifically exempted by a waiver, all public schools and open-enrollment charter schools (LEAs) must report assessment data, aligned with the Texas Education Data Standards (TEDS), that are collected using assessments that are on the commissioner’s list of approved assessments. 

The ECDS application will be available for LEAs to load kindergarten data from November 9, 2020, through January 28, 2021. 

The ECDS application will be available for LEAs to load prekindergarten (PK) data from November 9, 2020, (December 11, 2020, for private PK) through June 24, 2021. 

Data elements to be reported in the 2020–2021 school year vary by type of program. Separate sections below outline the data elements for each of the following: 

• Public Kindergarten Programs 
• Public Prekindergarten Programs 
• Private Prekindergarten Programs (voluntary) 

Full details regarding the state reporting data standards can be accessed in the Texas Education Data Standards. 

Public Kindergarten Programs (11-9-20 through 1-28-21) 

The reporting of kindergarten program data into ECDS is mandatory for all LEAs that administer an approved tool from the commissioner’s list, which currently includes the following: 

• Texas Kindergarten Entry Assessment (TXKEA) by CLI Engage 
• mCLASS Texas Edition by Amplify Education 

More detailed information about the requirements can be found on this Texas Education Agency (TEA) web page. 

Data Collection 

Each LEA using TXKEA or mCLASS Texas Edition will load the following data extracted from their Student Information System (SIS): 

• demographic information 
• special program information 
• course section information on students enrolled in district kindergarten classes 

CLI Engage (TXKEA) and Amplify (mCLASS Texas) will provide the Beginning of Year (BOY) assessment data (under the academic subject “Composite” for Language and Literacy) directly to TEA. 

• The assessment vendors will notify their LEAs of the schedule that they will use to deliver their data to TEA. 
• TEA will inform ESCs when the assessment results are available for LEAs to initiate the loading of their assessment data into the Operational Data Store (ODS) through the ECDS application. 

LEAs must validate their student, staff, course section, and assessment data, and resolve any fatal business validations, prior to completing the final ECDS kindergarten submission. 

Exemption Information 

LEAs that received a COVID-19 waiver for the 2020-2021 school year are asked to retain their assessment data locally, should TEA collect it later. These LEAs do not submit any data (student, staff, course section, or assessment data) into the ECDS application for the 2020-2021 school year. These LEAs are asked to complete the optional Assessment Survey to report the alternative assessment tool that was used to TEA. 

Public Prekindergarten Programs (11-9-20 through 6-24-21) 

The reporting of public prekindergarten program data into ECDS is mandatory for LEAs that administer a prekindergarten program. The collection includes the following data: 

• demographic information 
• special program information 
• sources of funding for prekindergarten classes 
• course section data needed to determine:
  • students enrolled in LEA prekindergarten classes, including the number of students who are eligible for classes under Texas Education Code (TEC), §29.153 
  • the number of half-day and full-day prekindergarten classes offered by the LEA and campus (calculated by TEA) 
  • class size (instructional staff-to-student ratio will be calculated by TEA) 
• the type of curriculum
  • The Texas DLM Early Childhood Express 
  • Opening the World of Learning: Texas Comprehensive Pre-K 
  • Big Day for PreK Texas Program 
  • High Scope Preschool Curriculum and Assessment 
  • Frog Street Pre-K Texas System 
  • Teaching Strategies System for Pre-K, Texas Edition 
  • Other 
• the name of the commissioner approved prekindergarten progress monitoring tool used
  • Commissioner’s List 
• the Beginning of Year (BOY) and End of Year (EOY) student assessment data collected using assessments that are on the commissioner’s list of approved assessments, which includes a raw score for each of the following five (5) academic domains: health and wellness; language and communication; emergent literacy reading; emergent literacy writing; and mathematics 
• additional teacher qualifications: 
  • certification offered through a training center accredited by Association Montessori Internationale or through the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education 
  • at least eight (8) years of experience teaching in a nationally accredited child care program 
  • employment as a prekindergarten teacher in a school district that has ensured specific early childhood education professional development has been met 
  • a graduate or undergraduate degree in early childhood education or early childhood special education 
  • a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential or 
  • documented completion of the Texas School Ready Training Program (TSR Comprehensive) 
• URL (link) to family engagement plan document 
• program evaluation type 
• high-quality prekindergarten program indicator (student level) 

Additional Information 

If a student is served in a stand-alone PK3 (PK for three-year-old students) classroom, specific progress monitoring is not required. Progress monitoring is required in high-quality prekindergarten classrooms. If a student is served in a mixed classroom (PK3 with PK for four-year-old students—PK4), where progress monitoring is required, a teacher should implement progress monitoring that is developmentally appropriate for students and may adjust monitoring for 3-year-olds or exclude 3-year-old students if it is deemed developmentally inappropriate. Student progress monitoring is a very important part of the teaching cycle and is considered a best practice with all age groups, as it enables a teacher to effectively adapt the daily classroom instruction to meet the needs of their students. If a district conducts student progress monitoring with its eligible three-year-old students using a tool from the commissioner’s list, the BOY and EOY data must be submitted into ECDS annually. This is true for both standalone PK3 classes and mixed PK3/PK4 classes (TEC, §29.1532). 

Exemption Information 

If an LEA received the appropriate waiver and is using a non-commissioner approved prekindergarten assessment instrument, the LEA is asked to complete the optional Assessment Survey. LEAs are also asked to retain their assessment data locally, should TEA collect it later. 

Private Prekindergarten Providers (12-11-20 through 6-24-21) 

The reporting of private prekindergarten program data into ECDS is optional. The data collection includes the following data: 

• demographic information 
• special program information 
• classroom link on four-year-old students enrolled in a licensed child care or Head Start program 

Support 

LEAs should contact their regional education service centers (ESCs) or their assessment vendors for training and support. There are staff at each ESC who have completed training for TSDS and data loading and will be able to assist in this process. 

For more information regarding ECDS, visit the Data Driven Instruction in ECE website. All program or policy questions should be sent to TEA staff via email at ecds@tea.texas.gov. All technical questions should be submitted via the TSDS Incident Management System (TIMS), which is available within the TSDS Portal using a TEAL log in.