Cockroft Weekly Column: Common Core data collection a real thing; a real concern.

I have written and shared my concerns about the implementation of Common Core Standards in our education system many times before, but I wanted to touch on one more area that I researched this week. Concerns of less local control, less strict standards, and outlandish spending while Common Core Standards is being implemented in Oklahoma are all viable and real. On top of all that, issues of data collection by state and federal government on our students should be distressing for all of us.

In a recent publication in the Federal Register, the US Department of Education put out a notice for public review detailing this so called “data mining”:

“…The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011), sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education (ED), is a survey that focuses on children's early school experiences beginning with kindergarten and continuing through the fifth grade. It includes the collection of data from parents, teachers, school administrators, and non-parental care providers, as well as direct child assessments…. the ECLS-K:2011 is exceptionally broad in its scope and coverage of child development, early learning, and school progress, drawing together information from multiple sources to provide rich data about the population of children who were kindergartners in the 2010-11 school year….”

Proponents of Common Core Standards state there is no data collection dictated in the standards. They proclaim, “They’re only standards.” But the standards allow for common coded data sets to compare children. If there were not “common” standards and assessments, then the tracking of children via a common data set would not be possible. The standards do set up the procedure to track students.  Common Core provides the framework for common “direct child assessments.” It’s not much of a conspiracy theory when the government tells you what personal data it needs to track your children and publishes it in the Federal Register.

The NCES came out with more than 400 data points that Common Core proponents said would never be used to gain data, including points that don’t pertain to quality of education like bus stop location, immunization status and healthcare plan, religious beliefs, voting status and nickname. A complete list of data points can be viewed on my blog. However, based on this proposal by the federal government, it sure seems as if that data set could be put in place and data gathered from parents, teachers, school administrators and non-parental care providers.

Once again, I cannot see how implementation of these “standards” could be good for our local school districts all across Oklahoma. I encourage you to share your thoughts and concerns with me and your local school administrations. Whether you are for or against putting Common Core in place, your elected officials need to hear from you to move Oklahoma in the right direction. We can’t do it without you.

Please call my office anytime at: 405-557-7349. Email me at: Josh.Cockroft@okhouse.gov. Follow me on my blog: www.RepJoshCockroft.blogspot.com, Facebook: Representative Josh Cockroft, and Twitter: @VoteCockroft27.

List of National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) information for Common Core Data Collection

Ability Grouped Status	Absent Attendance Categories
Academic Honors Type	Activity Code
Activity Curriculum Type	Activity Involvement Beginning Date
Activity Involvement Ending Date	Activity Leadership/Coordinator Participation Level
Activity Level	Activity Title
Activity Type	Additional Geographic Designation
Additional Post-school Accomplishments	Additional Special Health Needs, Information, or Instructions
Address Type	Admission Date
Admission Status	Ala Carte Non-Reimbursable Purchase Price
Alias	Allergy Alert
American Indian or Alaska native	Amount of Activity Involvement
Amount of Non-school Activity Involvement	Apartment/Room/Suite Number
Asian	Assessment Reporting Method
Assignment	Assignment Finish Date
Assignment Number of Attempts	Assignment Type
Assignment/Activity Points Possible	At-Risk Indicator
At-Risk Status	Attendance Description
Attendance Status Time	Awaiting Initial Evaluation for Special Education
Base Salary or Wage	Birthdate
Black or African American	Boarding Status
Born Outside of the U.S.	Building/Site Number
Bus Route ID	Bus Stop Arrival Time
Bus Stop Description	Bus Stop Distance
Bus Stop from School ID	Bus Stop to School Distance
Bus Stop to School ID	Career and Technical Education Completer
Career Objectives	Change in Developmental Status
Citizenship Status	City
City of Birth	Class Attendance Status
Class Rank	Cohort Year
Community Service Hours	Compulsory Attendance Status at Time of Discontinuing School
Condition Onset Date	Corrective Equipment Prescribed
Corrective Equipment Purpose	Country Code
Country of Birth Code	Country of Citizenship Code
County FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) Code	County of Birth
CTE Concentrator	CTE Participant
Daily Attendance Status	Day/Evening Status
Days Truant	Death Cause
Death Date	Developmental Delay
Diagnosis of Causative Factor (Condition)	Dialect Name
Diploma/Credential Award Date	Diploma/Credential Type
Discontinuing Schooling Reason	Diseases, Illnesses, and Other Health Conditions
Displacement Status	Distance From Home to School
Dwelling Arrangement	Dwelling Ownership
Early Intervention Evaluation Process Description/Title	Economic Disadvantage Status
Education Planned	Electronic Mail Address
Electronic Mail Address Type	Eligibility Status for School Food Service Programs
Emergency Factor	Employment End Date
Employment Permit Certifying Organization	Employment Permit Description
Employment Permit Expiration Date	Employment Permit Number
Employment Permit Valid Date	Employment Recognition
Employment Start Date	End Date
End Day	End of Term Status
English Language Proficiency Progress/Attainment	English Proficiency
English Proficiency Level	Entry Date
Entry Type	Entry/Grade Level
Established IDEA Condition	Evaluated for Special Education but Not Receiving Services
Evaluation Date	Evaluation Extension Date
Evaluation Location	Evaluation Parental Consent Date
Evaluation Sequence	Exit/Withdrawal Date
Exit/Withdrawal Status	Exit/Withdrawal Type
Experience Type	Expulsion Cause
Expulsion Return Date	Extension Description
Family Income Range	Family Perceptions of the Impact of Early Intervention Services on the Child
Family Public Assistance Status	Federal Program Participant Status
Fee Amount	Fee Payment Type
Financial Assistance Amount	Financial Assistance Descriptive Title
Financial Assistance Qualifier	Financial Assistance Source
Financial Assistance Type	First Entry Date into a US School
First Entry Date into State	First Entry Date into the United States
First Name	Former Legal Name
Full Academic Year Status	Full-time Equivalent (FTE) Status
Full-time/Part-time Status	Future Entry Date
Generation Code/Suffix	Gifted and Talented Status
Gifted Eligibility Criteria	GPA Weighted
Grade Earned	Grade Point Average (GPA): Cumulative (High School)
Graduation Testing Status	Head of Household
Health Care History Episode Date	Health Care Plan
Health Condition Progress Report	Highest Level of Education Completed
Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity	Homeless Primary Nighttime Residence
Homeless Unaccompanied Youth Status	Homelessness Status
Honors Description	Hospital Preference
IDEA Status	Identification Code
Identification Procedure	Identification Results
Identification System	IEP Transition Plan
IFSP Goals Met	Illness Type
Immigrant Status	Immunization Date
Immunization Status	Immunization Type
Immunizations Mandated by State Law for Participation	Impact of Early Intervention Services on the Family
Individualized Program Date	Individualized Program Date Type
Individualized Program Type	Information Source
Initial Language Assessment Status	Injury Circumstances
Injury Description	In-school/Post-school Employment Status
Insurance Coverage	International Code Number
IP Address	Language Code
Language Type	Languages Other Than English
Last/Surname	Last/Surname at Birth
Length of Placement in Neglected or Delinquent Program	Length of Time Transported
Life Status	Limitation Beginning Date
Limitation Cause	Limitation Description
Limitation Ending Date	Limited English Proficiency Status
Marital Status	Marking Period
Maternal Last Name	Meal Payment Method (Reimbursable/Non-reimbursable)
Meal Purchase Price (Reimbursable)	Meal Service
Meal Service Transaction Date	Meal Service Transaction Type
Meal Type	Medical Laboratory Procedure Results
Medical Treatment	Medical Waiver
Middle Initial	Middle Name
Migrant Certificate of Eligibility (COE) Status	Migrant Classification Subgroup
Migrant Continuation of Services	Migrant Last Qualifying Arrival Date (QAD)
Migrant Last Qualifying Move (LQM) Date	Migrant Priority for Services
Migrant QAD from City	Migrant QAD from Country
Migrant QAD from State	Migrant QAD to City
Migrant QAD to State	Migrant Qualifying Work Type
Migrant Residency Date	Migrant Service Type
Migrant Status	Migrant to Join Date
Migratory Status	Military Service Experience
Minor/Adult Status	Multiple Birth Status
Name of Country	Name of Country of Birth
Name of Country of Citizenship	Name of County
Name of Institution	Name of Language
Name of State	Name of State of Birth
National/Ethnic Origin Subgroup	Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
NCLB Title 1 School Choice Eligible	NCLB Title 1 School Choice Offered
NCLB Title 1 School Choice Transfer	Neglected or Delinquent Below Grade Level Status
Neglected or Delinquent Pre-test and Post-test Status	Neglected or Delinquent Program Placement Duration Status
Neglected or Delinquent Program Type	Neglected or Delinquent Progress Level
Neglected or Delinquent Status	Nickname
Non-course Graduation Requirement Date Met	Non-course Graduation Requirement Scores/Results
Non-course Graduation Requirement Type	Nonpromotion Reason
Non-resident Attendance Rationale	Non-school Activity Beginning Date
Non-school Activity Description	Non-school Activity Ending Date
Non-school Activity Sponsor	Non-school Activity Type
Notice of Recommended Educational Placement Date	Number of Days Absent
Number of Days in Attendance	Number of Days of Membership
Number of Dependents	Number of Hours Worked per Weekend
Number of Hours Worked per Work Week	Number of Minutes per Week Included
Number of Minutes per Week Non-Inclusion	Number of Tardies
Other Name	Overall Diagnosis/Interpretation of Hearing
Overall Diagnosis/Interpretation of Speech and Language	Overall Diagnosis/Interpretation of Vision
Overall Health Status	Participant Role
Participation in School Food Service Programs	Payment Source(s)
Percentage Ranking	Personal Information Verification
Personal Title/Prefix	Placement Parental Consent Date
Planned Assessment Participation	Points/Mark Assistance
Points/Mark Value	Points/Mark Value Description
Postal Code	Post-school Recognition
Post-school Training or Education Subject Matter	Preparing for Nontraditional Fields Status
Present Attendance Categories	Primary Disability Type
Primary Telephone Number Status	Program Eligibility Date
Program Eligibility Expiration Date	Program Eligibility Status
Program Exit Reason	Program of Study Relevance
Program Participation Reason	Program Placement Date
Program Plan Date	Program Plan Effective Date
Progress Toward IFSP Goals and Objectives	Promotion Testing Status
Promotion Type	Public School Residence Status
Qualified Individual with Disabilities Status	Race
Reason for Non-entrance in School	Recognition for Participation or Performance in an Activity
Reevaluation Date	Referral Cause
Referral Completion Date	Referral Completion Report
Referral Date	Referral Purpose
Related Emergency Needs	Released Time
Religious Affiliation	Religious Consideration
Residence after Exiting/Withdrawing from School	Residence Block Number
Resident	Resource Check Out Date
Resource Due Date	Resource Title Checked Out
Responsible District	Responsible District Type
Responsible School	Routine Health Care Procedure Required at School
Safety Education Status	School Choice Applied Status
School Choice Eligible Status	School Choice Transfer Status
School District Code of Residence	School Food Services Eligibility Status Beginning Date
School Food Services Eligibility Status Determination	School Food Services Eligibility Status Ending Date
School Food Services Participation Basis	School Health Emergency Action
School ID from which Transferred	Score Interpretation Information
Score Results	Screening Administration Date
Screening Instrument Description/Title	Screening Location
Section 504 Status	Service Alternatives
Service Category	Service Plan Date
Service Plan Meeting Location	Service Plan Meeting Outcome
Service Plan Meeting Participants	Service Plan Signature Date
Service Plan Signatures	Sex
Social Security Number	Social Security Number (SSN)
Special Accommodation Requirements	Special Diet Considerations
Special Education FTE	Start Date
Start Day	State Abbreviation
State FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) Code	State of Birth Abbreviation
State Transportation Aid Qualification	State-assigned Code for Institution
State-assigned County Code	Street Number/Name
Student Program Status	Substance Abuse Description
Technology Literacy Status in 8th Grade	Telephone Number
Telephone Number Type	Telephone Status
Title I Instructional Services Received	Title I Status
Title I Supplemental Services: Applied	Title I Supplemental Services: Eligible
Title I Supplemental Services: Services Received	Title I Support Services: Services Received
Title III Immigrant Participant Status	Title III LEP Participation
Total Cost of Education to Student	Total Distance Transported
Total Number in Class	Transition Meeting Date
Transition Meeting Location	Transition Meeting Outcome
Transition Meeting Participants	Transition Plan Signature
Transition Plan Signature Date	Transition Service Description
Transportation at Public Expense Eligibility	Transportation Status
Tribal or Clan Name	Tuberculosis Test Type
Tuition Payment Amount	Tuition Status
Uniform Resource Identifier	Unsafe School Choice Offered Status
Unsafe School Choice Status	User/Screen Name
Voting Status	Ward of the State
White	Work Experience Paid
Work Experience Required	Work Type
Zip Code	Zone Number