California’s planning process for a “Cradle-to-Career” data system has reached a critical juncture, as the Workgroup charged with making recommendations about the system considers governance options and the selection of an entity to manage it. Past efforts to develop a statewide data system in California were stymied over concerns about the make-up, roles, and responsibilities of the entity selected to manage the system, and how data collected by that entity would be used and by whom. The agenda for the June Workgroup meeting had called for a vote on the type of managing entity to recommend; however, group members indicated that they needed more time and additional information about the options.

One member suggested that the Workgroup develop a set of criteria for the selection of a managing entity and evaluate information about each option against those criteria. This is precisely the approach EdInsights took in the final report of our series examining California’s approach to gathering and sharing longitudinal data on students’ progress through the state’s education systems. The criteria we developed, shown in Table 1 below, largely overlap with those suggested by Workgroup members at the meeting. Primary among the criteria, in our view, should be a focus on the public good—that is, on ensuring that the managing entity for the data system has a mission focused on the use of the data to help various stakeholders understand student progress and outcomes, as well as attainment of equity goals, across the educational pipeline, in order to facilitate better-informed decisions.

Table 1:  A Set of Criteria for Evaluating Governance Options

Note: Table originally included in EdInsights’ report, A Hunger for Information: California’s Options to Meet its Statewide Education Data Needs

EdInsights assessed several options for a managing entity against the criteria, with two of the options being the same ones under consideration by the Workgroup—(1) a new state agency (or office within an existing agency), or (2) a joint powers authority (JPA) made up of agencies participating in the data system. Our final recommendation was based on what we learned through interviews with over 70 stakeholders, including state policy staff, state agency staff, local and system-level education officials, researchers, and education advocates. In addition, we pulled together an advisory group of stakeholders to review our criteria and weigh in about how the options stacked up against them. In the end, we determined that a state data agency/office created for the purpose of developing and managing a statewide data system would better meet the criteria than a JPA, with some of our considerations shown in Table 2 below. The governing board for the agency/office would need to include representation from among participating agencies, of course, but should be balanced with representation from other state entities (e.g., Legislative Analyst’s Office, Department of Finance, and other agencies with a broad focus on the public interest).

Table 2: Assessment of Options for a Managing Entity

Note: Table adapted from one included in EdInsights’ report A Hunger for Information: California’s Options to Meet its Statewide Education Data Needs

Our highest priority was ensuring that the governance structure is focused on the transparent use of an important public resource—administrative data collected by public agencies—to achieve the greatest good for all Californians. Our research into California’s current data structures and processes, the history of prior attempts to create a statewide data system, and the challenges encountered in efforts to share and use data across agencies, pointed to governance by a non-political state data agency/office (with representation by the participating agencies) as the best option. This conclusion has also been reached by others who have examined the issue.

In the current context, with California’s dual health and economic crises related to COVID-19, it is even more important that the governance structure ensure access to and use of this resource to understand the impact of the crises on marginalized and vulnerable populations, and ways to mitigate the effects moving forward. While it may be challenging for the state to dedicate resources to the creation of a new entity, the costs may be less than assumed, and there are ways to leverage existing state investments. Creating an office within an existing state agency—one that is independent of the agencies that will be participating in the system—would minimize the need for new administrative overhead and could leverage office space and other infrastructure. And it is not clear that a JPA would cost less to operate once created, as any entity will need sufficient staff capacity and other resources to carry out its mission. The Workgroup is also considering an option we did not contemplate—a nonprofit auxiliary to an existing state agency. This option is worth considering in the context of our criteria (or a set developed by the Workgroup) to see if it might offer the benefits of a neutral state agency/office at less cost or with more flexibility, while maintaining the independence and public accountability that are advantages of a state entity.

As close observers of the state’s planning process, we are encouraged by the Workgroup’s determination to carefully evaluate governance options against a set of criteria. Most states already have data systems that merge individual-level K-12, postsecondary education, and workforce data, but not all of them have set up governance entities and structures that facilitate effective use of their data systems to inform decision-making by various constituencies. If California is to follow the example of the more successful states like Washington and Kentucky, ensuring that the Cradle-to-Career Data System is governed by a neutral entity with some independent authority and adequate resources to carry out its mission is critical.

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