Data Dashboard | Strong Schools MD

The Data Project

The Process

Each year the State releases a trove of raw data files compiled from the reporting they mandate across school districts. Much of this data is used to inform the various reports that both the State Department of Education (MSDE) and the Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB) publish. However, it has been a frequent complaint among stakeholders that the state has failed to make this vast amount of data readily understandable to the general public without them having to wade through their long-winded reports or large two-dimensional tables.

To address these complaints, we created the following webpage which contains a series of interactive dashboards based on those same data sets. Additionally, key takeaways, notes on relevant specifics within the Blueprint legislature, and a short summary of the importance of all of the information are included alongside each dashboard. The page is separated into sections for each of the first four pillars of the Blueprint. Definitions of terms and raw sources are compiled at the end. To interact with the visualizations below, simply click on the graphs to see relationships demonstrated and data points highlighted across the dashboard.

The Caveats

There are several challenges and limitations underlying this project, as is unavoidable with such time-constrained and large-scale undertakings. It is important to acknowledge and understand these so that the information can be used to its fullest potential without sacrificing accuracy of the message.

The data is released by the state in certain formats. Much of the data therefore cannot be deconstructed in what would ultimately be the best ways (which some believe may be the intent of releasing the data in this way). This has created limitations in what can be shown through the data in this project.
Due to it still being within the first few years of the Blueprint's implementation, and the occurrence of the highly disruptive Covid pandemic, tracking and interpreting results over time is not a highly reliable method for analyzing the data currently. As such, the data below is mostly confined to snapshots of the 2023-2024 school year.
None of the data or takeaways discussed below should be interpreted as proving causation, the purpose of this project can do is highlight correlations and gaps as they are seen in the data.

The Goals

This project aims to provide increased transparency and improved comprehension surrounding the data that is released by the state. The hope is that by creating a series of easy-to-use, interactive dashboards, more of the broader stakeholder population can make use of the data themselves. The use of this data can hopefully both inform and inspire advocacy efforts across a wide range of targeted outcomes. This project also goes to show what is possible with the data that the state collects. Even in the limited form it is available in publicly, it is perfectly possible to display the data in a much more user friendly and digestible way then the state currently chooses to.

Pillar 1: Early Childhood Education

School districts with higher Pre-K participation numbers tend to have lower average readiness scores

The KRA readiness assessment is currently being updated for improvements, the data used is the most recent available.

Higher total Pre-K spending is connected to higher participation levels in districts

Blueprint Promises

Increased investments in early support and interventions for young children and their families, including coordinated services for children and families with the greatest need through centers located in their communities
Expanding access to high-quality, full-day prekindergarten programs for 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds through a mixed delivery system.
Learn more about Pillar 1 here.

Higher total scholarship spending by districts is connected with larger percent changes in participation year over year

Districts with higher per-child spending are also those spending a greater proportion of their funds on Pre-K programming

The Importance

The observed connection between the number of participants and lower readiness in districts points to the struggles of current Pre-K systems to handle increasing student volume. Higher spending on childcare scholarships and Pre-K programs overall is linked to greater participation, suggesting that school districts should expect higher costs as pre-K initiatives continue to expand across the state

Definitions

Pillar 2: High Quality and Diverse Teachers and Leaders

School districts with higher levels of inexperienced teachers tend to have a lower percentage of students who meet rigorous indicators.

Areas where higher concentrations of teachers have a masters degree are also areas where there are lower concentrations of students of color.

The percent of inexperienced teachers is higher in schools with high poverty and high students of color levels.

Across the state, lower paid teachers (who tend to have higher levels of inexperience) are concentrated in high poverty level schools.

Districts with higher levels of teacher pay tend to have higher levels of students meeting rigorous indicators.

The Importance

Students of color and students from low-income communities are much more likely to have teachers who are less experienced, lower paid, and less likely to hold advanced degrees. These staffing disparities are linked to lower academic outcomes, including fewer students achieving rigorous indicators in high school. This dashboard shows how teacher pay, experience, and qualifications are not evenly distributed and emphasizes why investing in teacher support is critical for closing achievement gaps and improving educational equity across the state.

Blueprint Promises

Raise teacher pay to make it equitable with other highly trained professionals with the same amount of education.
Elevation of the teaching profession with career ladders that allow the advancement of teachers and principals based on knowledge, skills, performance, and responsibilities
Rigorous preparation, state exit, and certification standards that require demonstration of competencies to successfully teach all students, regardless of their backgrounds.
Learn more about Pillar 2 here.

Definitions

Widely unequal outcomes between school districts, both in terms of the percentage of students who are taking tests per demographic group, and the passage rate of those students.

Unequal outcomes between student demographic groups both in terms of the rate at which students take, and the rate at which students pass, AP tests.

Pillar 3: College and Career Readiness

Blueprint Promises

Ensure more students reach college and career readiness by 10th grade.
Expand access to and availability of Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs.
Improve access to rigorous college preparatory opportunities.
Develop clear pathways for students who are not college- and career-ready by the end of 10th grade.
Learn more about Pillar 3 here.

School districts spending larger proportions of funds on College and Career Readiness (CCR) programs tend to have a larger percentage of students who achieve rigorous SAT or ACT results.

Districts with high achievement in only CTE or USM have poorer graduation results. And CTE results are generally low across districts.

The Importance

Students from different demographic groups and districts experience vastly different levels of access to and success in college and career readiness programs. These gaps show up in who takes AP tests, who passes them, and how well students perform on the SAT or ACT. This dashboard highlights how targeted investments in programs like CCR are connected with better outcomes. However, the connections between student success and CTE and USM programs is less clear. These data points help districts and communities understand where support is needed and how resources can be more effectively used to close opportunity gap.

Definitions

Pillar 4: More Resources for all Students to be Successful

There is a close connection between the demographics of a district and the distribution of Blueprint funding in that district.

Blueprint Promises

Increased funding for students in Special Education, Multilingual Learner programs, and Compensatory Education.
A commitment to equitable outcomes, regardless of family income, race, ethnicity, disability, or other characteristics along with additional resources for students, families, and communities facing systemic barriers such as poverty, crime, and limited access to health care or social services. These resources are delivered both in schools and in the broader community.
Targeted support for students and families based on specific and varying needs.
Creation of and investment into community schools programming in schools with high concentration of poverty.
Learn more about Pillar 4 here.

School Districts spending a larger proportion of funds on English Learning programs tend to have a higher AP passage rate among their multilingual student population.

School districts with the highest chronic absenteeism rates are also those which are spending the highest proportion of funds on community school related programming.

Districts with the lower levels of per-pupil wealth rely more on state funding per-pupil

The Importance

Districts see their funding by program vary greatly depending on their student populations. Observing these connections shows that the Blueprint is helping to direct money towards vulnerable student populations across districts. For example, larger levels of multilingual students are spending more on English learning programs and are, in general, seeing higher passage rates for those multilingual students. Additionally, districts with higher levels of chronic absenteeism are directing more money towards community schools, which are designed to be part of the solution to that issue. Overall, this dashboard shows the ways in which Blueprint legislature broadly dictates funding patterns across school districts, ideally in service of those areas and students who most need it.

Note the connection between higher levels of:

FARMS and Compensatory Ed;

Students with disabilities and Special Ed;

Multilingual Learners and English Learners;

Economically Disadvantaged and Conc. of Poverty.