Research Library

Overview

The CSDE is committed to continuously learning from data and experience to implement evidence-based educational policies and practices that result in improved student outcomes. The CSDE’s learning agenda is guided by the State Board of Education’s four promises to Connecticut’s students:

  1. Ensuring their non-academic needs are met so they are healthy, happy, and ready to learn. (Mental health, nutrition, after-school programs)
  2. Supporting their school and district in staying on target with learning goals.(Education Cost Sharing - ECS, Alliance Districts, Commissioner’s Network, School Choice)
  3. Giving them access to great teachers and school leaders.
  4. Making sure they learn what they need to know to succeed in college, career, and life.

In addition to the publications below, please also visit the Learn Together Grow Together CT site for promising practices that are happening in Connecticut districts.

Alternative Education and Adult Education 
Alliance Districts/Commissioner’s Network 
Career/Technical Education 
CMT/CAPT 
Connecticut Alternate Assessment 
Data Systems 
Early Childhood / Kindergarten Readiness 
Early Indication Tool 
Educators
English Language Proficiency Assessment
English Learners
Enrollment and Attendance
Extended Learning 
Graduation
Growth 
NGSS 
Postsecondary/Employment 
SAT/PSAT/AP 
School Choice 
Smarter Balanced 
Special Education 
Student Supports 
Studies in Progress

 

 

Alternative Education and Adult Education

  • Untapped Potential: Engaging All Connecticut Youth (2016) This report establishes definitions of disengaged and disconnected youth and analyzes longitudinal CSDE data based on those definitions. In addition to identifying some of the early indications of student disengagement, the report offers promising points of intervention and recommended practices. Partner: Parthenon
  • Extending Accountability: From Compliance to Learning (2009) This paper examines the impact of federal accountability requirements in adult education. It presents some positive developments with respect to curriculum, instruction, and the use of data, while highlighting some of the shortcomings within the federal methods. 
  • Learner Retention in Adult Secondary Education (2008) This paper compares the retention of learners in the GED preparation program to those enrolled in two other adult secondary completion options – the Adult High School Credit Diploma Program and the National External Diploma Program.

 

Alliance Districts/Commissioner’s Network

Career/Technical Education

  • The Effects of Career and Technical Education: Evidence from the Connecticut Technical High School System (2019)This study examines the effect of admission to 16 stand-alone technical high schools within the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System (CTECS) on student educational and labor market outcomes. To identify the causal effect of admission on student outcomes, the researchers exploit the fact that CTECS utilizes a score-based admissions system and identify the effect of admission using a regression discontinuity approach. Partners: University of Connecticut, P20WIN

CMT/CAPT

Connecticut Alternate Assessment

Data Systems

  • Statewide Student Information System: A Feasibility Report (2019) In response to Public Act 17-220, the CSDE conducted a survey of local and regional boards of education regarding their use of student information systems. The CSDE also conducted focus groups with district data and technology staff, and superintendents. Lastly, CSDE staff had a conversation with the Director of Technology for the North Carolina Department of Education who weighed in on their state's implementation of a statewide SIS. All the information was synthesized and submitted in this report to the Connecticut General Assembly.

Early Childhood / Kindergarten Readiness

  • Assessing Kindergarten Entry Skills in ConnecticutThe Kindergarten Entrance Inventory (KEI), 2010-2013 (2018). This study analyzed KEI data collected across four school years, from 2010-11 to 2013-14 (approximately 141,000 students) to understand the kindergarten readiness of children across Connecticut. Partner: Partnership for Early Education Research (PEER)
  • Early Childhood Regression Discontinuity Study (2016) The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE) conducted this evaluation study at the request of the Education Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly (CGA). The purpose of this study is to investigate the immediate effects associated with children who attend Connecticut’s state-funded School Readiness full-day or school day prekindergarten program. Partners: University of Connecticut, The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering
  • Kindergarten Inventory study (2013) How do kindergarteners who were enrolled in publicly funded pre-K compare, on the Kindergarten Entrance Inventory, to those who were not enrolled in publicly funded pre-K?

Early Indication Tool

Educators

English Language Proficiency Assessment

  • Connecticut’s Re-Evaluation of the 2015 Middlebury Interactive Alignment Study of LAS Links C and D to the Connecticut English Language Proficiency Standards

    • English Learners

    • Demographic Trends of Connecticut’s English Learners (SY 2015-16 to 2019-20)  English Learners are a heterogeneous group of students, reflecting diverse languages, racial and ethnic backgrounds, cultures, socio-economic statuses and other characteristics. It is the civil right of English learners to receive language supports as a part of their core programming and accessibility supports embedded in their core grade-level academic content. This report examines the diverse characteristics of Connecticut’s English Learners such as immigrant and special education statuses, native languages spoken, their grade distribution and language program participation. It also highlights significant trends and changes they have experienced from SYs 2015-15 through 2019-20.
    • A Closer Look at Connecticut’s High School English Learners (SY 2018-19)  English learners (ELs) are a subgroup of Connecticut’s high school students, unique from their non-EL peers in the challenge they face to access and master secondary-level academic content while concurrently trying to develop English language proficiency. Additionally, they are also sometimes distinguished from non-EL peers by their demographic characteristics. This paper presents a statewide picture of high school ELs in SY 2018-19, including their demographics, assessment results and trends in these areas.
    • Academic Growth on the Mastery Examination of English Learners in Bilingual Education Programs (2017) This report presents the first results of the academic growth of English learners in bilingual education programs. The traditional approach to evaluating academic performance has been to report academic achievement. However, achievement is a snapshot measurement where the students evaluated are often different from one year to the next. Therefore, this report focuses on the growth or change in achievement of the same students from one year to the next i.e., from 2014-15 to 2015-16 on Connecticut's Smarter Balanced growth model.
    • English Learners Data Bulletin (2015) A summary report that takes an in-depth look at English learners including student demographics, discipline, identification for special education, achievement, mastery attainment, and high school graduation.
    • English Learners Data Bulletin (2012)A summary report that takes an in-depth look at English learners including student demographics, discipline, identification for special education, achievement, mastery attainment, and high school graduation.
    • English Learners Data Bulletin (2010)A summary report that takes an in-depth look at English learners including student demographics, discipline, identification for special education, achievement, mastery attainment, and high school graduation.
    • English Learners Data Bulletin (2008)A summary report that takes an in-depth look at English learners including student demographics, discipline, identification for special education, achievement, mastery attainment, and high school graduation.
    • English Learners Data Bulletin (2001)A summary report that takes an in-depth look at English learners including student demographics, discipline, identification for special education, achievement, mastery attainment, and high school graduation.
    • English Learners Data Bulletin (1998) A summary report that takes an in-depth look at English learners including student demographics, discipline, identification for special education, achievement, mastery attainment, and high school graduation.

    Enrollment and Attendance

Extended Learning

  • 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) Evaluation Report, 2017-18 (2019) This report presents findings on Connecticut’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC). The 21st CCLC program provides funding to school districts and community organizations that serve students attending schools with a high concentration of low-income students. 21st CCLC grants are designed to provide these students with opportunities for academic enrichment, activities that complement learning, and to encourage family engagement. Partner: University of Connecticut
  • 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) Evaluation Report, 2016-17 (2018) This report presents findings on Connecticut’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC). The 21st CCLC program provides funding to school districts and community organizations that serve students attending schools with a high concentration of low-income students. 21st CCLC grants are designed to provide these students with opportunities for academic enrichment, activities that complement learning, and to encourage family engagement. Partner: University of Connecticut
  • 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) Evaluation Report, 2015-16 (2017) This report presents findings on Connecticut’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC). The 21st CCLC program provides funding to school districts and community organizations that serve students attending schools with a high concentration of low-income students. 21st CCLC grants are designed to provide these students with opportunities for academic enrichment, activities that complement learning, and to encourage family engagement. Partner: University of Connecticut
  • 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) Evaluation Report, 2014-15 (2016) This report presents findings on Connecticut’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC). The 21st CCLC program provides funding to school districts and community organizations that serve students attending schools with a high concentration of low-income students. 21st CCLC grants are designed to provide these students with opportunities for academic enrichment, activities that complement learning, and to encourage family engagement. Partner: University of Connecticut
  • 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) Evaluation Report, 2013-14 (2014) This report presents findings on Connecticut’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC). The 21st CCLC program provides funding to school districts and community organizations that serve students attending schools with a high concentration of low-income students. 21st CCLC grants are designed to provide these students with opportunities for academic enrichment, activities that complement learning, and to encourage family engagement. Partner: University of Connecticut
  • 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) Evaluation Report, 2012-13 (2013) This report presents findings on Connecticut’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC). The 21st CCLC program provides funding to school districts and community organizations that serve students attending schools with a high concentration of low-income students. 21st CCLC grants are designed to provide these students with opportunities for academic enrichment, activities that complement learning, and to encourage family engagement. Partner: University of Connecticut
  • 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) Evaluation Report, 2010-11 (2011) This report presents findings on Connecticut’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC). The 21st CCLC program provides funding to school districts and community organizations that serve students attending schools with a high concentration of low-income students. 21st CCLC grants are designed to provide these students with opportunities for academic enrichment, activities that complement learning, and to encourage family engagement. Partner: University of Connecticut
  • 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) Evaluation Report, 2009-10 (2010) This report presents findings on Connecticut’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC). The 21st CCLC program provides funding to school districts and community organizations that serve students attending schools with a high concentration of low-income students. 21st CCLC grants are designed to provide these students with opportunities for academic enrichment, activities that complement learning, and to encourage family engagement. Partner: University of Connecticut

Graduation

  • Improving High School Graduation Rates: Insights from Four Connecticut Districts (2020) This report summarizes conversations with leaders in four of Connecticut’s Alliance Districts. The four districts showed strong and sustained year-over-year increases in their four-year adjusted cohort graduation rates. The leaders identified key strategies for engaging and supporting all students with the goal of on-time graduation and readiness for post-secondary success.
  • Improving Extended Graduation Rates: Insights from Four Connecticut Districts (2020)  This report highlights best practices in ensuring that students who need more time to graduate are provided the opportunity. The information presented is based on conversations with leaders in four districts demonstrating improvements in extended graduation rates for students with disabilities and English learners. 

Growth

NGSS

  • Connecticut Alternate Science (CTAS) Assessment Standard Setting Report (2019)  The CTAS is an alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards for students with significant cognitive disabilities. The CTAS has been developed to ensure that all students with significant cognitive disabilities can participate in an assessment that is a measure of what they know and can do in relation to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). This report describes the standard setting activity that was conducted with Connecticut educators to establish performance standards (cut scores) for the CTAS assessment.
     
  • Validating American Institutes for Research’s Calibration and Scoring Processes for Science Assessments (2019)Introduction of new three-dimensional science standards have ushered in innovative methods for assessing students’ knowledge of science. New psychometric models were needed to account for the fact that item-level scores are clustered due to a common stimulus. Connecticut's vendor for science assessments, the American Institutes for Research, has had to rely on software that was developed in-house to calibrate and score these assessments. State level data quality control checks could not be accomplished through commercially available psychometric software. This paper summarizes a series of studies conducted by the Connecticut State Department of Education to validate AIR’s calibration and scoring processes. Partner: University of Connecticut

Postsecondary/Employment

  • Trends in Enrollment, Credit Attainment, and Remediation at Connecticut Public Universities and Community Colleges Results from P20WIN for the Graduating Classes of 2010 through 2014 (2020) What percentage of the high school graduating class enrolled in a Connecticut public university or community college? What percentage of those who enrolled earned at least one year’s worth of credits (24 or more) within two years of enrollment? What percentage of took a remedial course within two years of enrollment? Results are provided for student groups at the state level and for all districts and schools.
  • The Employment Outcomes of High School Graduates - Class of 2010 (2017) For the high school graduates from the class of 2010, this report presents the average earnings up to six years after high school graduation. The report disaggregates data based on whether students experienced "some college." District-level results in excel file. 
  • Next Steps: Preparing a Quality Workforce (2008) This study tracked five cohorts of Connecticut 10th grade students taking the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) between 1996 and 2000 over as many as 8 ½ years beyond high school. It followed these students through their college experiences and/or into the labor force to study and document the many elements of their success critical to preparation for entry into a skillful workforce. Partner: University of Connecticut

SAT/PSAT/AP

  • SAT Multi-State Standard Setting - Final Report (2016)  In June 2016, College Board Research and Development facilitated a Multi-State Standard Setting for the Math and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing Sections of the SAT. The purpose was to obtain three recommended cut scores for each of these exam sections that can be used for accountability purposes. This report summarizes the procedures used to obtain recommended cut scores from the standard setting panels, as well as the final cut scores that were agreed upon by the four states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, and New Hampshire. First, an overview of the standard setting meeting is presented, followed by a detailed description of the procedures and results.
     
  • Connecticut SAT School Day Annual Technical Report (2019) This report summarizes the performance of students who took the state administration of the SAT school day test. It provides an analysis of the quality of the test forms administered in the state of Connecticut Psychometric and statistical summaries related to the moments, intercorrelations, reliability and standard error of measurement, item completion rates, form speededness, and classification accuracy and consistency are also included.
  • The Relationship between the Smarter Balanced Grade 8 Assessments and the PSAT 8/9 Assessment (2017) This study analyzes the relationship between students’ Smarter Balanced results in Grade 8 and their subsequent performance on the PSAT 8/9 in the fall.
  • Connecticut SAT School Day Annual Technical Report (2017)This report summarizes the performance of students who took the state administration of the SAT school day test. It provides an analysis of the quality of the test forms administered in the state of Connecticut Psychometric and statistical summaries related to the moments, intercorrelations, reliability and standard error of measurement, item completion rates, form speededness, and classification accuracy and consistency are also included.

School Choice

Smarter Balanced

Special Education

Student Supports

Studies in Progress

The following studies are in progress:

  • How do social emotional learning data gathered from student surveys as well as early reading assessments administered in Grades K through 2, improve the prediction of student proficiency on the Smarter Balanced ELA assessment in Grade 3? Partner: Meriden Public Schools
  • What is the relationship between student participation in the Smarter Balanced interim assessment blocks and their performance on the corresponding assessment target on the summative assessment?
  • How effective are evidence-based text messaging campaigns in reducing “summer melt” and improving enrollment persistence in Connecticut so that students are more successful in completing their postsecondary education? Partners: American Institutes for Research, Connecticut State Colleges and Universities
  • What is the relationship between the number of years a student attends a particular school and the amount of growth that is achieved on Connecticut’s Smarter Balanced growth model in Grades 4 through 8?
  • What are the long-term educational outcomes of children with and at-risk for developing reading and writing difficulties? What are the antecedents in the schooling process of children who later develop reading and/or writing disabilities? Partner: University of Houston
  • What should be Connecticut’s operational definition of college and career readiness (e.g., first year college GPA, # of credits earned in first two years, self-sufficiency wage)? What factors in high school (e.g., high school course work, test scores, attendance, mobility, discipline, grade repetition) best predict college and career readiness? Partners: P20WIN members including CSCU, UCONN, CT Conference of Independent College, DOL (see P20WIN data request)
  • How can student performance and persistence in middle school serve to predict potential for participating in rigorous coursework (e.g., advanced placement, international baccalaureate, dual enrollment) during high school
  • How does the long-term academic achievement of former English learners who participated in bilingual education programs (transitional and/or dual language programs) compare to that of other former ELs who received ESL instruction?
  • What is the relationship between a parent’s participation in adult education programming and their child’s outcome in school?