Minnesota SLEDS

What do rigorous course taking patterns tell us about high school grads?

The Rigorous Course Taking report offers you information about Minnesota public high school graduates who enrolled in rigorous courses or took rigorous exams at any point while in high school.

What are rigorous courses?

Rigorous courses refer specifically to Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO), Concurrent Enrollment, Advanced Placement (AP), or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. Your high school graduates may have taken one or a combination of these courses and their data will show on the report, so you can look for patterns across programs. For example, how many high school graduates took concurrent enrollment and AP courses? Data shown on this report should correlate with your school's dual-credit offerings. You can even see how your students’ enrollment patterns in rigorous courses compare to other schools.

How do your students compare?

SLEDS features some key information on rigorous course data. Start by looking for your school or district to learn about the rigorous course enrollment rate for your students. Then filter your data by race/ethnicity, gender and special criteria to compare results among different demographic groups, like English Learners, Special Education, Free/Reduced Price Lunch, and Career Technical Education (CTE).

Additionally, you can view information on AP and IB exam taking patterns and intensity, and investigate the extent to which students are participating in multiple rigorous programs across their high school career.

Try this new report today! It may become a useful tool for your local data reporting needs. If you need further assistance, don't hesitate to get in touch with our regional coaching network for a training session.

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Introducing New Filters on High School Graduate Reports

Using filters allows you to look up data related to a particular school district or economic development region. Filters can also offer you richer information regarding educational outcomes, either by shining light on inequities or helping you identify possible predictors and pathways to success.

We have added two filters on most high school graduate reports that you should find quite interesting: Rigorous Course Taking and Career Technical Education, or CTE. Rigorous Course taking will allow you to view data on students who did one or more of the following:

• Took an AP Exam as reported by the College Board,
• Took a IB Exam as reported by IB,
• Enrolled in an AP Course per MN Common Course Catalog,
• Enrolled in an IB Course per MN Common Course Catalog,
• Participated in Postsecondary Enrollment Options in K12 Enrollment, or
• Participated in Concurrent Enrollment in K12 Enrollment.

The Career Technical Education filter will bring up data on students who successfully completed 100 course hours or more within one Career Field in an approved CTE program. For your convenience, definitions for the available filters can be accessed by clicking on the link at the bottom of the filter pane.

We hope these new filters improve your data experience. Let us know what you think.

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New Reports: Entering the Workforce & Top 25 High Schools

Do you ever wonder what high school graduates do once graduation is over, if they don’t go to college in the fall? According to our latest high school graduates report, approximately 23% of Minnesota’s 2015 high school graduates entered the workforce. In the 12 months following senior year, the majority (58%) were working less than 20 hours per week on average, earning $11.06 per hour.

The new SLEDS mobile report “Entering the Workforce” offers you a look at the proportion of high school graduates who are working, the number of hours worked, average wages and the industries in which they work. Using the filter tool, results for graduates from 2009-2015 can be shown by school district or economic development region, race, gender or special characteristic.

Try it yourself: http://sleds.mn.gov/#HSGraduatesToEmployment/

Also, in relation to understanding how high school graduates decide to follow their educational pathways, in Spring we are releasing a new report that allows SLEDS users to view the top 25 high schools of origin for new students enrolled in a selected college. As always, you can add several views for a comparison analysis and add demographic filters for a deeper exploration.

Look for the Top 25 High Schools report under College Students / New Student Enrollment.

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New Video Tutorial: Introduction to the Website

To allow SLEDS users learn by themselves how to explore the website and the reports published on it, we have a started producing a series of video tutorials specially created for SLEDS beginner and intermediate users. If you are new to SLEDS, or are recommending the website to someone else, our video tutorials are the perfect resource for learning how to navigate the website, find relevant information, and access all the reports available.

These video tutorials are intended to guide users through specific sections and reports, at the viewer’s own pace, to build their data skills and proficiency. We hope SLEDS video tutorials will allow new visitors learn quickly the capabilities of selected reports to inform their decision-making and feel comfortable enough to explore the data at length.

The first video tutorial released is Introduction to the Website, a guided tour for newcomers to SLEDS.

The tutorial provides a general overview of the site, its navigation, and basic guidelines for accessing data reports. You can find it posted on the Outreach page, under the top right pane titled Video Tutorials. Make sure you check it out today.

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Latest Data Upload: Mobile Analytics and Secure Reports

We are excited to announce the completion of our Fall data upload to SLEDS. If you are currently exploring our reports, you will access and view data for 2017 high school graduates, fall 2017 enrolled college students, and 2016-2017 college graduates for selected public and secure reports, as followed:

New Data Available for Selected Reports and SLEDS Publications Library

How many Minnesota college graduates are finding jobs and at what wages? Our most recent Employment report on SLEDS offers you information on the job status of recent Minnesota college graduates from 2014 and 2015, one and two years after graduation. View the Employment report.

In addition, we recently added a new report titled “Completions by Developmental Education Status.” This report shows the college completion rates of high school graduates who enrolled in developmental education within two years of high school graduation, by type of institution: University of Minnesota (all campuses), MN State Universities, MN public two- year, and MN private four-year. This addition provides a richer picture in regards to the persistence of students who required developmental classes at the beginning of their college education.

View the new report here or from the main menu, select the Developmental Education under High School Graduates. You will find the new report located on the fourth tab, under ACT Scores.

Get in touch with your local regional data coach (RDC) for an in-person demonstration of the Developmental Education Report and other reports you want to explore further. You can find your assigned RDC by using the interactive map tool on the Outreach page, located under the Network pane.

Finally, we invite you to visit the newly-designed SLEDS Publications Library. Located on the Data in Use page, the library offers SLEDS users an array of relevant research publications and reports that were created by using SLEDS data. Publications are classified and tagged into four categories (pathways, progress, predictors, and performance) located on the top left of the pane. For your convenience, a search engine is available to help you locate specific publications by subject, author, year, agency, etc.

Our library will eventually become a hub for SLEDS data-based reports and publications. The new design is intended to make it easier to browse through an ever-expanding catalogue of research-related content.

We hope these new features will enhance your data experience. Let us know your feedback, comments, or questions by sending us an email to sleds.support@state.mn.us.

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New Video Tutorials: The Enrollment Report & The Completing College Report

Following the release of our first SLEDS video tutorial, Introduction to the Website, we are launching two new tutorials that explore the High School Graduates’ Enrollment Report and Completing College Report. Both tutorials offer step-by-step guidance on how to navigate the report using the filters for detailed data exploration.

The Enrollment Report video tutorial provides detailed instructions for viewing data on college enrollment, where HS graduates attend college, number of credits taken during their first term, and top 25 colleges attended. Viewers are shown how to select filters to view a specific graduation year data and compare results for a chosen high school with statewide results. Additionally, viewers can learn how to retrieve data for specific student populations.

The Completing College Report video tutorial explains how to interpret the data shown about students continuing in and persisting through college. Viewers can learn how to compare schools over time and how to compare schools to each other.

If you are a new to SLEDS, or are recommending the website to someone else, our video tutorials are the perfect resource for learning how to navigate the website, find relevant information, and access all the reports available. We hope SLEDS video tutorials will allow you to quickly learn the capabilities of selected reports to inform your decision-making and feel comfortable enough to explore the data at length.

SLEDS video tutorials are intended to guide users through specific sections and reports, at the viewer’s own pace, to build their data skills and proficiency. You can find them posted on the Outreach page, under the top right pane titled Video Tutorials. Make sure you check them out today.

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What the most recent data tells us about Minnesota High School Graduates

According to the latest data release on SLEDS, the class of 2018 was comprised of 59,919 high school graduates, a slightly higher number than in recent years. The High School Academics report shows proficiency results in Statewide Accountability Tests and ACT test scoring that you can use to gauge how prepared Minnesota public high school graduates are for postsecondary education, or how students at your district school are performing against statewide results. ACT test-taking hit an all time high with the class of 2018; 85.2% of high school graduates took the ACT compared to 68.2% of the class of 2015.

To compare your school, district or region to statewide results, access the filtering options and select the criteria of your choice. You may also review the outcomes of students by race/ethnicity, gender, language, and academic rigour, among others.

Added Features and Updates

SLEDS now offers two ways to view data by geographic area in all reports’ filtering options. Users may filter a report by Economic Development Region or Workforce Development Region. The recently added workforce development regions pertain to Minnesota's Strategic Workforce Plan empowered by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which provides federal funding to states for workforce development activities, including initiatives and job-training programs for adults and youth.

In addition to this, the High School Graduates Enrollment report now offers users the ability to review college enrollment trends regarding timing of enrollment. When are high school graduates choosing to enroll in college if not the fall after graduation? How many decide to enroll two years later, or three to five years later? How many decide not to enroll at all? How is the trend shaping over time?

Data reported currently runs from 2012 to 2016. Explore the Time Trends report to learn about your own school district trend and selective cohorts by using the available filters.

Finally, a new year of data is also available on Getting Prepared. This tableau-based report focuses on developmental education activity of Minnesota public high school graduates enrolling in college within two years of high school graduation. Getting Prepared 2018 includes data for classes of 2011 to 2015 and preliminary data for classes of 2016 and 2017.

If you are new to SLEDS, or would like assistance with SLEDS data analytics, we encourage you to contact a regional data coach (RDC) for an in-person demonstration of the Getting Prepared report or other reports on SLEDS. Use the interactive map tool on the Outreach page located under the Network pane to find out your assigned RDC.

We care about your experience with SLEDS. Please, let us know your feedback, comments, or questions by sending us an email to sleds.support@state.mn.us.

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New Video Tutorials: The Developmental Education Report & The Entering the Workforce Report

We are wrapping up our series of SLEDS tutorials series with two videos that explore the Developmental Education and Entering the Workforce reports. Both tutorials offer step-by-step guidance on how to navigate the report using the filters for detailed data exploration.

The Developmental Education Report offers information about Minnesota public high school graduates who enrolled in developmental courses at Minnesota postsecondary institutions within two years of their high school graduation. The video tutorial shows viewers how to use the report to retrieve data on developmental education enrollment, institutions where students are taking developmental education courses, ACT scores by developmental education status, college completion by developmental education status, and developmental education trends, which was released earlier this summer. The tutorial describes how to select filters to view a specific graduation year data and offers complementary information to help interpret results.

The last video tutorial of the series, titled Entering the Workforce Report, explains how to interpret the data shown about students who did not enroll in college the fall after graduation, but decided to get a job instead. The tutorial describes the steps for customizing the report using the filters’ options to learn about the number of high school graduates who are working, their hours and wages, and industry of employment.

SLEDS video tutorials are a practical tool for learning how to navigate the website entirely by oneself. The videos guide users through specific sections and reports, at the viewer’s own pace, to build their data skills and proficiency. You can find them posted on the Outreach page, under the pane titled Video Tutorials. If you find these videos helpful, please consider sharing them with your colleagues to spark conversation about data exploration, expand their knowledge of SLEDS reports, and apply the latest data available in their reporting.

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Minnesota college graduates show positive outcomes a few years into the workforce

We start 2020 taking a deep look into the employment outcomes of Minnesota college graduates a few years after graduation to answer the following questions:

• How many graduates are found employed two years after graduation?
• What are their median wages for part-time and full-time employment?
• Which type of credentials offer graduates higher wages and higher rates of full-time employment?
• Are racial disparities in income and full-time employment persisting with higher degrees?
• What are the prospects for growth in income for each type of degree earned?

SLEDS' latest infographic, titled Jobs and Wages After College, depicts a positive outlook for Minnesota college graduates, both related to employment and wages, showing that earning a higher degree does pay off in time (see "Graduates with higher degrees earn more and have higher rates of full-time employment").

In addition, the infographic highlights statistics on wages to provide a ranking of instructional programs for high wages by type of award (certificate, associate degree, bachelor's degree, and graduate degree) that is based on the highest median full-time annual wages in the second year after graduation (class 2015). Finally, regional data on median hourly wages of graduates in the second year after graduation is displayed to compare how outcomes vary across Minnesota.

Jobs and Wages After College was designed to best display information that may escape the average user of a data tool, from presenting stats that sustain the proposition in favor of pursuing a postsecondary degree to the growth in wages seen at all degree levels. Statistical data used to create the infographic was sourced from the Graduate Employment Outcomes tool available online at https://mn.gov/deed/geo (Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development - DEED), which bridges data from the Minnesota Office of Higher Education (postsecondary graduation records) and wage records from all employers subject to unemployment insurance taxes in Minnesota. Graduation and wage records are linked in the Statewide Longitudinal Education Data System (SLEDS).

Other data sources include employment outlook projections, educational requirements for occupations, occupational employment and wages and cost of living.

We hope the Jobs and Wages After College infographic serves you to spark conversations among your peers around Minnesota college graduate outcomes. If you have any questions about the information and data shared in this infographic, please send an email to sleds.support@state.mn.us. We appreciate your feedback and look forward to learning about your experience with SLEDS.

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New Enrollment Report Reveals Which Minnesota High School Graduates Attend College Outside the State

According to SLEDS Enrollment Report, approximately 20% of Minnesota high school graduates (11,550) enroll annually in college outside Minnesota. With the newly released Out-of-State Enrollment report, SLEDS users can learn more about the population of high school graduates who decided to pursue their postsecondary education out of the State and how successful they were. Using data from the National Student Clearinghouse, the report shows eight years of student data from the time of high school graduation for classes 2010 - 2018 to inform users about the educational outcomes of Minnesota graduates at out-of-state institutions.

The Out-of-State Enrollment report offers users the ability to review demographic information of Minnesota high school graduates studying outside Minnesota, such as gender, race/ethnicity, special characteristics (free/reduced priced meals, special education, English learner), ACT scores, and the 25 top high schools of origin. In addition, outcomes reported include persistence rates during the first and second years and completion rates at the institution of choice.

To look up a specific high school, users should access the filtering options and type in the name of the high school or school district. It is also possible to filter a search by the state in which the college of enrollment is located. For example, if we look up how many Minnesota high school graduates from class of 2018 went to college in Wisconsin (access the filtering options and use the College State filter), the report will show that 2,996 graduates enrolled in postsecondary institutions in that state (59% female; 41% male). We will also learn that a large majority (88%) were White, 5% were Asian, and the remaining 7% were Black or African American and Hispanic or Latino.

More interestingly, we can learn from the report that the largest number of 2018 graduates enrolled in college in Wisconsin graduated from Stillwater Area High School (89 graduates).

Users may also filter results by type of postsecondary institution and/or college. Definitions are provided by selecting the Filter Definitions link at the bottom of the pane.

If you are new to SLEDS, or would like assistance with navigating this new report, we encourage you to contact a regional data coach (RDC) for an in-person demonstration of the Out-of-State Enrollment report or any other report on SLEDS. Go to the Network pane on the Outreach page to find out your assigned RDC.

We care about your experience with SLEDS. Please, share with us your feedback, comments, or questions by sending an email to sleds.support@state.mn.us.

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A New Year of Data Available on Public and Secure Reports

In August, we finalized the data upload on SLEDS for both the public site and secure reports. If you are currently exploring our reports on the public site, you will access and view data for 2019 high school graduates, fall 2019 enrolled college students, and 2018 college graduates. Take a closer look at what data tells you about Minnesota high school graduates and how they compare to students in your district, county or region. Our reports can help you learn about your students, assess educational shortcomings, and inform possible strategies to support positive outcomes in all students.

• How many 2019 high school graduates in your school district moved onto college?
• Which colleges are they enrolling to?
• What happened to those graduates who did not enroll in college?
• How does your graduate class of 2019 compare to prior years? How does it compare to similar school districts, and statewide data?
• How many 2019 high school graduates who enrolled in college took developmental education courses?

If you have access to SLEDS Secure Reports, make sure to check the newly released data on K-12 Research Data Mart and Postsecondary Research Data Mart.

Additionally, expand your understanding of the educational outcomes of Minnesota students by exploring the latest cohort available on the Graduate Employment Outcomes tool (GEO). This tool shows how many recent Minnesota college graduates found Minnesota jobs one and two years after graduation, with median earned wages and top industries of employment.

If you would like assistance with navigating our reports, don’t hesitate to contact a regional data coach (RDC) for an online demonstration. We recently expanded our Regional Coaching Network. Please, visit the Outreach page to find out your assigned RDC or check out the list of counties served by each member.

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Latest Resources and Publications

We Have Expanded Our Regional Coaching Network!

Navigating data on ECLDS and SLEDS is a learning experience for most users. Some of them may need a guided introduction to data analysis for their decision-making. For this reason, the Minnesota P-20W has extended the regional coaching network to better serve ECLDS and SLEDS users. The network works closely with data users to address the technical issues that may arise when accessing, using, and applying data shown on both systems.

Regional Coaching Network members perform the following activities:

• Training state, local, and partnering agency staff
• Coordinating data analysis activities in partnership with the state, school districts, and communities
• Assisting with databased planning and program evaluation
• Developing products and services to improve user experience, as guided by SLEDS coordinators
• Facilitating projects with external partners
• Incorporating feedback to improve products and services
• Overseeing special regional studies about education, college, and career planning
• Coordinating and conducting original education data analysis
• Serving as an expert resource to education stakeholders and partner agencies
• Assessing education research and information resource needs
• Responding to requests for information and analysis
• Representing ECLDS and SLEDS at regional meetings

Our regional data coaches work proactively with local schools, districts, colleges, and workforce agency staff, as they assess their local needs and encourage the use of ECLDS and SLEDS data to inform policymaking and program decisions.

If you are new to SLEDS or would like assistance with data analytics, contact a regional data coach close to you.

Resources to Improve Your Data Navigation

We recently published new resources for beginner SLEDS users to help them explore our data reports and identify what type of data is available to them. Both the High School Graduates Report Cheat Sheet and the College Students Report Cheat Sheet can help users better understand the research questions behind each report, data indicators, and filters available.

Each report is designed to help identify the benchmarks and transition milestones students meet toward high school graduation and into college, and as college students into the workforce, with the goal of providing an understanding of the current pathways that lead students to successful outcomes in higher education and work.

We hope you find these materials useful to your data exploration experience. You may find more resources on the Outreach page.

New Publication: "Trends, Transitions, and Subgroup Differences on the Pathway to a Family-Sustaining Hourly Wage for Minnesota Students"

The University of Minnesota's Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI) recently published a new report on the education pathways Minnesotans take, exploring whether or not these pathways led them to earn a family-sustaining hourly wage as an adult.

Researchers used SLEDS data to examine the educational pathways and economic outcomes of individuals who entered high school (Grade 9) in the 2004–05 school year. The study followed their pathways through 2017 and incorporated data from four additional cohorts who entered high school in 2005–2008, plus wage data through June 2018, in order to answer questions about trends, transitions, and subgroup differences.

View the report

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Introducing the ECLDS + SLEDS Logo

We are thrilled to roll out the new combined logo for Minnesota’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Data System and the Statewide Longitudinal Education Data System. You may find the new logo on some of our outreach materials when both data systems are promoted. The logo embraces the complementing role both data systems play in understanding the long-term outcomes related to public investments in human development and education, from early childhood to postsecondary.

We hope you like it.

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ECLDS’ Comprehensive Services Map Finds New Users During Pandemic

Ever since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in Minnesota, priorities have shifted to respond appropriately to this public health emergency. Such was the case of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Data System (ECLDS)’s comprehensive services map, which re-imagined its potential use and application towards finding essential services at a local level in Minnesota.

The ECLDS comprehensive services map launched in June 2019 as a geolocation service to help individuals and families visually locate nearby support programs and resources. With the advent of the coronavirus, essential workers were in desperate need to locate and access child care services to be able to go to work daily. More than 4,000 family and center-based child care providers have informed Minnesota Management and Budget that they are currently able to provide care for children of essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the ECLDS’ comprehensive services map, essential workers can find available care providers closest to them on in relation to their home, work, or other address. For the official MMB map of locations, visit the MMB COVID-19 child care page.

Moreover, the map has made possible for school districts to locate emergency child care sites within district boundaries through a simple search on the map. They have put together a flyer with step-by-step instructions for gathering this information. Additionally, COVID-19 testing sites have also been added to the map for quick location in your community.

Finally, by adding layers for essential sites including nursing homes, hospitals, and correctional facilities to the comprehensive services map, ECLDS was able to help Child Care Aware of MN include proximity scoring in its evaluation rubric of thousands of Peacetime Emergency Child Care Grant applications.

We highlight ECLDS’ work for repurposing their data tool as a resource in the fight against COVID-19. We invite you to explore it yourself and share with your network.

Please, let them know about your experience by submitting your feedback, comments, or questions via email to eclds.support@state.mn.us.

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Winter Data Upload Completed

This week we finalized the data upload to SLEDS and ECLDS. Take a few minutes to check for yourself the data updates on the following High School Graduates and College Students reports: