Report 2012-044 Recommendation 14 Responses

Report 2012-044: California Department of Education: Despite Some Improvements, Oversight of the Migrant Education Program Remains Inadequate (Release Date: February 2013)

Recommendation #14 To: Education, Department of

To address a lack of detailed migrant program service and outcome data, Education should either expand the capabilities of its existing statewide databases or implement additional systems that would allow regions to capture more detailed data about migrant students.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2019

Education has completed phase one and two of the augmentation of its data collection system, the Migrant Student Information Network (MSIN). Phase one captured student and family eligibility information and phase two included the module for capturing detailed student program services and generates service reports at the school, district, and regional levels.

The Application Programming Interface (API) build, previously scheduled for deployment in December 2018, was delayed until November 2019. The API will allow Education's Migrant Program the ability to retrieve student data directly from the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) and import data from MSIN into CALPADS. The Migrant Program contract developers now have access to the CALPADS API staging environment and are testing data queries. The production environment, which will produce the data requested, is scheduled to be available November 2019. Once the API is in production, the Migrant Program will be able to develop its MSIN system for automatic data transmissions.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Partially Implemented

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2018

Education completed phase one and two of the augmentation of its data collection system, the Migrant Student Information Network (MSIN). Phase one captures student and family eligibility information, as required by the federal government, and phase two includes the module for capturing detailed student program services and generating service reports at the school, district, and county levels.

Education is in the final stages of completing the Application Programming Interface (API), which will import current migrant student identification data from MSIN directly into the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System. The data transfer will provide local district staff the most current migrant student data. The API is scheduled for production deployment in December 2018, and the subsequent automation of the data exchange between the two systems is scheduled for production deployment in March 2019.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Partially Implemented

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2017

Fully Implemented. In November 2016, Education completed phase one of the augmentation of its data collection system, the Migrant Student Information Network (MSIN). MSIN captures student and family eligibility information, as required by the federal government. Education also completed phase two, which includes the module for capturing detailed student program services and generating service reports at the school, district, and county levels.

Education is continuing to work with its California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) to create an application programming interface that will provide local migrant program staff the ability to identify migrant children in CALPADS.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Partially Implemented

Education has expanded the capabilities of its Migrant Student Information Network to provide comprehensive information about students and their services in a central database. As it acknowledges in its response, Education is still pursuing changes that will allow local staff the ability to identify migrant students in CALPADS. Accordingly, we assess this recommendation as partially implemented.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2016

Education has contracted with WestEd to augment and enhance its current MEP data collection system, the Migrant Student Information Network. The first deployment of the system augmentation has been developed and will be online in November 2016. The first phase of the deployment will include an interface to capture federally required family and student program eligibility information. The second phase, scheduled for spring 2017, will include a system for capturing detailed program service data, as well as the capacity for generating service reports and viewing assessment data, imported from the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS). Education is also seeking the creation of a user interface to provide local school districts the ability to verify and update MEP data.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Not Fully Implemented

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2015

Education is conducting a study of viable data system improvement solutions. The results of this study will enable Education to make determinations as to expanding the capabilities of statewide databases or acquiring additional systems that will allow regions to capture more detailed migrant data.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Not Fully Implemented

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2014

Education plans to conduct a study of viable data improvement solutions. The results of this endeavor will enable Education to make a determination as to expanding the capabilities of statewide databases or acquiring additional systems that will allow regions to capture more detailed migrant student data.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Not Fully Implemented

1-Year Agency Response

To improve the availability of program outcome data, in the summer of 2014, Education plans to conduct a gap analysis of data needs and services as well as a study of viable solutions that exist both in and out of state. The results of this endeavor will enable Education to make a viable determination as to expanding the capabilities of statewide databases or acquiring additional systems that could allow regions to capture more detailed migrant student data. In addition, in fiscal year 2014-15, Education will standardize the codes utilized by migrant regions when entering service data into the COEstar database.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Pending

6-Month Agency Response

Education established a monthly process for May, August, and September whereby it plans to continue matching Migrant Student Information Network (MSIN) and California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) data to obtain Statewide Student Identifier (SSID) information. After three months of matching, Education will establish a quarterly schedule to conduct SSID matching with CALPADS. Education is also taking other steps that will lay the foundation for the collection of accurate program service and outcome data. Education will implement a year-long process beginning in FY 2013-14 to standardize the service codes utilized by migrant regions when entering service data into the Certificate of Eligibility (COEstar) database.

During FY 2013-14, Education will also take other steps to ensure that the corrective actions taken to this recommendation are focused on addressing all data needs. The first step will include the hiring of a consultant to conduct a gap analysis of data needs and services as well as a study of viable options/solutions that exist both in-state and out-of-state. The second step will include a review of the consultant's findings and the selection of a course of action regarding a data-collection solution, either newly-designed or existing.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

60-Day Agency Response

In assessing MEP data management needs, Education is working collaboratively with the migrant regions in developing a data system to capture more detailed migrant student data. Education is also exploring the enhancement of existing statewide databases to include service and outcome data and expects to develop a course of action during fiscal year 2013-14.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

All Recommendations in 2012-044

Agency responses received after June 2013 are posted verbatim.