Essential to the success of transition education is the availability of user-friendly longitudinal statewide data on student performance, demographic and other information that high schools and colleges can call upon as students move through the system.  States have spent hundreds of millions of dollars developing statewide longitudinal data systems (LDS), but in most states the systems contain K-12, rather than K-16 or K-20 data.  For example, although 18 states have the ability to connect K-12 and 13-16 data systems, only 11 states have actually linked student postsecondary data with high school records.

Practitioners and policymakers occasionally mention of the need for preK-20 data systems, but no implementation or evaluation data exist to support these discussions.  Further, evaluation data on users’ interactions with LDS, LDS efficacy and the impact of LDS use on professional practice are limited.

The Data Quality Campaign has identified ten essential elements of a longitudinal data system (www.dataqualitycampaign.org), including the key connection between K-12 and 16-20 longitudinal data systems. Hezel Associates’ evaluations of LDS initiatives support the advancement of transition education by constructing an understanding of effective LDS use at the primary, intermediate, secondary and postsecondary levels, as well as user needs and ultimate LDS impact on users’ practice.