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Early Childhood Data System (ECDS) for Public Prekindergarten, High-Quality Prekindergarten Programs, Private Prekindergarten Providers & Kindergarten Data

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ACTION ITEM

September 14, 2018

TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED:

Subject: Early Childhood Data System (ECDS) for Public Prekindergarten, High-Quality Prekindergarten Programs, Private Prekindergarten Providers and Kindergarten Data

The following information should be shared with early childhood and data management staff to ensure the prekindergarten and kindergarten data outlined below are submitted.

The ECDS is a state reporting feature in the Texas Student Data System (TSDS). All public schools will report Texas Education Data Standards (TEDS) Compliant XML data elements for public prekindergarten and kindergarten data (only if administering a commissioner-approved kindergarten assessment) at the district level.

The ECDS application will be available to load kindergarten data from October 22, 2018 through January 31, 2019. The ECDS application will be available to load prekindergarten data from October 22, 2018 through July 18, 2019.

Data elements to be reported in the 2018–2019 school year vary by type of program. There are separate sections below outlining the data elements for each of the following:

  • Public Kindergarten Data
  • Public Prekindergarten Programs
    • (HQPK) indicates a High-Quality Prekindergarten Program data element
  • Private Prekindergarten Providers (voluntary)

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

Public Kindergarten Data (10-22-18 through 1-31-19)
The reporting of kindergarten program data into ECDS is mandatory for all public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools (collectively, local education agencies or LEAs) that administer a commissioner approved kindergarten assessment instrument The data collection includes the following data:

  • demographic information
  • special program information
  • classroom link on students enrolled in district kindergarten classes
  • the type of commissioner approved kindergarten progress monitoring tool for Beginning of Year (BOY), 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
  • assessments on the 2017-2021 Commissioner's List of Approved Prekindergarten Assessment Instruments include:
    • aimswebPlus (English/Spanish)
    • BASC-3-BESS (English/Spanish)
    • DESSA-mini (English/Spanish)
    • DIAL-4 (English/Spanish)
    • DIBELS Next (English)
    • ISIP – Early Reading (English)
    • LION for Reading (English)
    • MAP (English)
    • Ready, Set, K! (English/Spanish)
    • STAR Early Literacy (English/Spanish)
    • TPRI (English)
    • Tejas LEE (Spanish)
    • TX-KEA (English/Spanish)
    • Work Sampling System (English/Spanish)

Public Prekindergarten Programs (10-22-18 through 7-18-19)
The reporting of public prekindergarten program data into ECDS is mandatory. LEAs are required to collect and report the prekindergarten program data regardless of whether LEAs administer one or more of the assessments included on the Commissioner’s List of Approved Prekindergarten Assessment Instruments. The data collection includes the following data:

  • demographic information
  • special program information
  • classroom link on students enrolled in LEA prekindergarten classes, including the number of students who are eligible for classes under Texas Education Code (TEC) §29.153
  • the numbers of half-day and full-day prekindergarten classes offered by the LEA and campus
  • the sources of funding for the prekindergarten classes
  • course section data needed to determine 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 type of commissioner approved prekindergarten progress monitoring tool and results (if administered) for the BOY and End of Year (EOY) which includes a raw score or percentile score for each of the following five (5) academic domains: health and wellness, language and communication, emergent literacy reading, emergent literacy writing and mathematics
  • assessments on the 2017-2021 Commissioner's List of Approved Prekindergarten Assessment Tools include:
    • BASC-3 BESS (English/Spanish)
    • CIRCLE CLI (English/Spanish)
    • CIRCLE Liberty Source (English/Spanish)
    • DIAL-4 (English/Spanish)
    • Frog Street Assessment (English/Spanish)
    • GOLD (English/Spanish)
    • ISIP-Early Reading (English)
    • LAP-3 (English)
    • Ready, Set, K (English/Spanish)
    • Work Sampling System (English/Spanish)
  • additional teacher qualifications (HQPK):
    • 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)
  • family engagement URL (HQPK)
  • program evaluation type (HQPK)
  • high-quality prekindergarten program indicator (student level) (HQPK)

Private Prekindergarten Providers (10-22-18 through 7-18-19)
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

Additional Information
If an LEA is using a non-commissioner approved prekindergarten or kindergarten assessment instrument, the LEA should notify TEA of its choice of assessment instrument by completing the Alternate Assessment Form. School districts and open-enrollment charters schools must retain their assessment data locally, should TEA decide to collect it later.

The ECDS data will be used to inform stakeholders, such as educators, parents, and legislators, about the effectiveness of prekindergarten programs in preparing children for success in kindergarten under TEC §29.161. For an example of Data Reports generated with this information, reference Texas Public Education Information Resource (TPEIR).

Organizations should contact their regional education service centers (ESCs) or a certified vendor for ECDS training and support. All ESC staff have completed training for TSDS and data loading and will be able to assist in this process.

For more information regarding ECDS, visit the ECDS program page. If you have policy questions, please contact 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 from the TSDS Portal.  

Sincerely,

Jacquie Porter, Director
Early Childhood Education Division

Attachment: Instructions on the Data Submission Process

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