Small Hands, Big Dreams: A Deeper Look at States’ Preschool Data

00:00:04.25 >> For the IDEA Data Center, I'm Amy Bitterman, and this is A Date with Data. Every month, I sit down with data quality influencers from around the country to share their stories about special education data and the work they do to improve outcomes for children with disabilities.

00:00:21.90 >> Hello. On this episode of A Date with Data, we are throwing a spotlight on preschool special education, or 619 data. I am joined by Jody Fields, who is the Part B Data Manager with the Arkansas Department of Education, and also Heather Dunphy, who is a Lead Education Program Specialist with the Arizona Department of Education. They will be sharing their insights and experiences related to improving the quality of their state's 619 data and also using the data to support early childhood programs and help improve outcomes for students with disabilities. So thank you both so much for being on.

00:01:00.46 >> You're welcome. Thanks for having us.

00:01:02.69 >> Of course.

00:01:03.12 >> Thanks for having us, yes.

00:01:04.96 >> So to start things off, Heather, can you tell us a little bit about how you're involved in IDEA data generally, and then also more specifically with preschool data?

00:01:16.44 >> Sure. My primary responsibility is federal submissions, and so I will pull all of the data for each of the SPP/APR indicators and review that data, and then I'm the one who puts it into the template, and then I meet with the specialist to review that data. So that's my primary role, working with all of the indicators, IDEA data, and then I also work with significant disproportionality calculations and communicating with school districts in that area, as well as our LEA determinations.

00:01:52.64 >> As far as preschool data, I'm back here in the office, but the specialists are the ones who go out and talk to our school districts. What I like to do is help prepare them by equipping them with the data they think is most relevant so that when they go to the school districts, they have talking points.

00:02:17.78 >> Great—so more behind-the-scenes support in that way. Thanks, Heather. Jody, what about you?

00:02:27.86 >> I manage all of the 321 student and personnel data. We oversee the 618 data sets, train LEAs on our student management system, build training materials, and support the APR.

00:02:50.09 >> Specifically for early childhood, our student management system covers PK–12 and tracks referrals. We have a field that distinguishes preschool versus school-age, and our early childhood programs have their own module to track entry into special education and exits, including outcomes. Personnel data ties into 321 and captures FTE for early childhood as well.

00:03:31.52 >> Can you talk about how you partner with early childhood special education staff who focus on preschool data? Jody, do you want to start?

00:03:45.41 >> Sure. I work closely with our 619 coordinator by providing specific data. They also have access to the most recent LEA-submitted data through a secure portal—child count, personnel, exit data, and aggregate reports year-round. If something specific is going on, I can pull more recent data directly from the system and also create ad hoc reports as needed.

00:04:38.05 >> Heather, how about Arizona?

00:04:47.44 >> I prepare reports so our specialists can go out to school districts with relevant information. A lot of our information is in data tables, so I like to put it in a visual format. The preschool team identified what would be helpful to visualize—October 1 child count over time, LRE categories, disability status, preschool outcomes summary scores, average entry and exit scores, and parent survey data over the past three years.

00:05:40.00 >> Seeing it visually helps districts interpret the data more easily. For example, a district didn’t notice a major drop in child count until they saw it on a bar graph. That led us to review the submitted data and identify integrity errors, then correct them going forward. Districts have started requesting the graphs, which is exciting because they’re understanding their data in new ways.

00:07:18.97 >> Exactly. It not only helps districts better understand their data, it also gives confidence to our specialists when they’re explaining the data.

00:08:01.86 >> Let’s talk about why preschool data is so important. Heather, can you start?

00:08:30.34 >> Preschool data is one of the most important pieces because we’re supporting students when they’re so little. The impact can ripple for the next 15 years. If we can narrow the gap before kindergarten, students start with the best possible foundation. If they begin kindergarten already behind, it becomes much harder to close the gap over time.

00:10:18.97 >> Jody, what are other examples of how you’ve used preschool data, including connecting 619 to K–12?

00:10:18.97 >> We track a “Program Type” field—regular preschool, Head Start, Arkansas Better Chance—which isn’t part of federal reporting. We matched that with early childhood outcomes data to see which settings had stronger outcomes, and we also aligned it to kindergarten readiness data. It was interesting to compare how early childhood staff scored outcomes (after knowing children for years) versus how kindergarten teachers scored readiness (after about 30 days). The differences helped inform efforts to support smoother transitions into inclusive kindergarten settings.

00:12:43.92 >> Heather, what about Arizona?

00:12:43.92 >> We do data dives to see whether interventions are working over time. We also looked at inclusion trends—our rate in regular early childhood programs increased from about 27% to 40% over the last several years. We analyzed the impact and found a connection: as inclusion increased, outcomes improved. Seeing that in our own state was exciting, and it helped fuel communication from the preschool coordinator to specialists to districts and teachers.

00:14:58.07 >> We also track “slippage” in the SPP/APR. When we saw slippage, we drilled down and found that one large district’s outcomes issues were concentrated in two preschool sites. We invited district leadership to review the data. The director actually said it was great news because she had already identified those two sites as underperforming and closed them, moving students to other settings. The data validated what she observed and reinforced the value of deeper dives beyond statewide aggregates.

00:17:39.78 >> To wrap up, what role does preschool special education data play beyond federal reporting? Heather?

00:17:55.83 >> We use longitudinal data in every conversation with districts and specialists. Federal reporting is a snapshot, but deeper dives help us look year over year, see whether interventions are working, and adjust when needed. We use the data to encourage inclusive practices—and to push beyond “being in the room” toward meaningful inclusion.

00:19:16.99 >> In Arkansas, preschool data informs policymaking and decision-making. Many districts don’t operate their own early childhood special education programs, so we track where a child lives and apply insights back to districts or education co-ops to identify where support is needed. The data also drives professional development—helping districts understand what they’re reporting and how to use that data to improve programs.

00:20:33.31 >> Thank you both for sharing your work and your stories.

00:20:59.28 >> A Date with Data is produced by the IDEA Data Center, which is funded by the US Department of Education. Have a story about special education data that you'd like to share? We'd love to hear from you. Reach out to us at ideadata@westat.com. To learn more about our center and our work, visit ideadata.org.