P.O. Box 202501 • Helena, MT 59620-2501
"Few people enter the field of education because they love data... Questioning the reasons why we are using data can lead to an authentic purpose when we have the data at hand." -Dr. Kyle Peck, 2017 Montana Data Use Conference
The Montana SLDS first received a Statewide Longitudinal Data System grant in 2009. This Institute of Education Sciences award allows states to build their infrastructure, dissemination, and research capacity. This is done through promoting linkages within state government, school districts, and universities. Our data portal, GEMS, is the premier source of education data within Montana. School districts rely on GEMS daily as this is the OPI resource for reporting and transparency. In 2019, OPI received a supplemental grant to study the uses of alternative poverty measures. In doing so, OPI focused on the research uses of the alternative poverty measures in comparison to Free and Reduced Priced Meals data.
In 2021, OPI received another Institute for Education Sciences grant focused on building the research capacity of the SLDS. This grant enabled research on the Montana Early Warning System, a predictive analytics tool used in dropout prevention. This tool was found to be accurate in its predictions. Participating districts that made full use of the system, and showed that there is a strong association between subgroup performance and graduation. Native students, in particular, were 7% more likely to graduate if they had an EWS score.
Summary of findings from the SLDS poverty measures study published by American School Board Journal.
This article focus on the intersection of dropout and interventions by investigating data use in Montana EWS Schools. It concluded that many districts fully used the intervention in whole school dropout prevention models.
comparisons to alternative poverty measures. Research performed as part of a Supplemental SLDS Grant that investigated School Level Poverty Measures.
Exploring the Effect of Highest Education Obtained and Longevity of Service on Montana Educator Salaries.
Groundbreaking research by partners at the University of Montana regarding the impact and effectiveness of four-day schools.
OPI report about 2023 educator salaries and differences in educator salaries between 2022 and 2023. Report finds that there was significant salary growth for most teachers, however teachers earning less than $35,660 earned significantly less.;
2024 Research Agenda of the Montana SLDS.
Report by our research partners at Montana State University which address the expenditures of ESSER funding (Drs. Urban & Stoddard)
Robin Clausen explores the intersection between education, geography, and economic disadvantage in Montana. He acknowledges the importance of how we measure economic disadvantage.
Pathways to a self-sustaining Statewide Longitudinal Data System.
This article provides a broad review of the Montana Early Warning System. It discuss's which kinds of schools implemented the model and how successful they were.
We synthesize four studies of alternative poverty measures and explore differences based on how we measure economic disadvantage and in different geographical locales.
With an audience of school superintendents, we go under the hood of the Montana Early Warning System and synthesize elements of the system with its uses.
This statewide analysis of alternative poverty measures finds that comparisons with FRPL are difficult and each alternative’s value is found in how the measure is constructed.
Robin Clausen, SLDS Program Manager, 406-444-3793