What is a high-quality statewide data system? One characteristic is that it provides the information needed to address important questions about early intervention and early childhood special education. But what are those questions? What questions should data users, such as program directors, advocates, and policymakers, be asking?

The Center for IDEA Early Childhood Data Systems (DaSy) compiled a set of Critical Questions that a quality state data system for early intervention (EI) or early childhood special education (ECSE) should provide the data to answer. The answers to these questions serve various functions, including supporting the state agency in effectively administering the program, meeting accountability requirements for EI and ECSE, and improving results for children and families through an examination of program features.

The questions are grouped into three sections, which align with the suggested data elements in the DaSy Data System Framework System Design Subcomponent [see System Design and Development, Quality Indicator 4 (see SD4)]: child and family, practitioner, and local EI services program and local educational agency. Each section has a set of broad questions, with each broad question followed by more specific example questions. The broad questions represent critical global questions for state monitoring, evaluation, and program improvement efforts in EI/ECSE. The specific example questions illustrate more detailed approaches that will enable the state to address the issues raised by the overall broad questions.

Bread and Butter Questions
Aspirational Questions

The critical questions include both essential questions, denoted by the bread-and-butter symbol, and aspirational questions, denoted by the mountain climber symbol. Essential questions are those that a comprehensive, well-functioning state data system should provide the data to answer. Aspirational questions, although valuable to ask and answer, are more complex and require more information or more linkages to other data systems than would be expected even with a high-quality system. For both the essential and aspirational questions, there is no expectation that the data to answer them have to be in one system. The only expectation is that the state can access the data and link to data if necessary to answer the questions—wherever the data might reside.

A few of the example questions appear more than once. These questions were intentionally duplicated because they address more than one topic (e.g., questions that involve both child-level and practitioner-level data). Additionally, many if not all questions are relevant to ask at both the state and local levels.

Many state data systems do not currently have the data elements for answering all the essential questions. The purpose of this document is to help state staff think about some of the questions they would like to be able to answer with their data systems, take stock of where their data systems are relative to being able to provide the data to answer these important questions, and begin to plan for how to improve the power of their data systems.

How to use the critical questions as a tool to plan enhancements to a data system:

1. Identify the questions in this document that are a priority for your state/locality.
2. Identify which of these questions can and cannot be answered with your current data system.
3. Prioritize the questions that currently cannot be answered.
4. Review your data system and data elements to identify what additional data or enhancements to the system would be needed to answer these questions. (The DaSy Data System Framework Self-Assessment is a helpful tool for reviewing your data system and data elements and capturing priorities for improvement.)
5. Develop a plan to begin to collect the necessary data elements or to make the necessary enhancements to your data system.

How to use the critical questions to organize analyses for informing program operations, program improvement, and policy and accountability:

1. Identify the questions in this document that are a priority for your state/locality.
2. Identify which of these questions your state can answer with your data system and which questions currently cannot be answered.
3. Develop an analysis plan to answer the priority questions that can be answered with your current data system.
4. Analyze the data.
5. Apply the results of the analysis to answer your priority questions, with the goal to improve services for children and families.

DaSy technical assistance providers are available to assist state Part C and Part B 619 staff in identifying priority questions, necessary data elements, and developing analysis plans. Please contact DaSy for additional information or assistance.