Why Every State Needs a Successful P20W Longitudinal Data System

Using accurate, secure data to support students throughout early childhood, education, career, and life

In an increasingly data-driven education landscape, the term “P20W” or “P-20W” is quickly gaining popularity. But what does it mean?   

In simple terms, P20W refers to “pre-kindergarten through college and into the workforce.” And in reference to data, P20W data systems connect statewide information throughout each of these life stages of the student. With P20W data, education leaders can make sound policy decisions, make the best use of resources, and fully support students along their journey through education, work, and life.  

Why Are States Committed to Developing Statewide P20W Longitudinal Data Systems?

Educators, policy makers, and governments are actively embracing a reimagined, modernized technology model. They are in dire need of driving improved economic and educational outcomes by enabling and investing in a “cradle to career” approach for education. As the Data Quality Campaign notes “State policymakers have a critical role to play in supporting P20W data use and system development. By connecting data over time and across sectors, P20W data systems help individuals make decisions and support policymakers in driving systemic improvements.”  

Why Doesn’t Every State Have a Successful P20W Longitudinal Data System?

Unifying—and making useful for operations—massive amounts of disparate data securely and efficiently is extremely difficult. Different systems and incompatible software have siloed data across education and government agencies. Most state P20W and State Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) today are custom-built requiring significant technology and personnel investment to develop these systems from scratch which can take years to operationalize. Maintenance of these clunky systems over time creates financial strain and risks the long-term durability of such a platform.  

Furthermore, the current digitally hostile landscape requires continuous, dedicated, and specialized focus and innovation to secure these platforms. The lack of appropriate security investments and expertise risks the exposure of ransomware attacks and data breaches which can be detrimental to the state and its citizens.  

As a result of these challenges, most state P20W and SLDS systems today are partially useful and: 

• Unable to realize the promise of connecting the full ecosystem of data sets across agencies 
• Often have performance constraints due to inability to keep up with the latest innovation 
• May have significant security vulnerabilities 
• Typically resource-constrained due to attrition of specialized skill sets and cost-prohibitive nature of custom-built solutions

Unfortunately, this leaves leaders and policymakers without comprehensive, timely, relevant insights to effectively redirect investments, programs, and resources in the most effective way possible. 

How Do Integrated Solutions Meet State Longitudinal Data System Needs?

PowerSchool’s integrated technology solutions securely connect students, teachers, administrators, and parents—as well as government agencies and policymakers with the shared goal of maximizing student outcomes and workforce participation.   

Recently, PowerSchool introduced Connected Intelligence, the first commercially off-the-shelf P20W platform for K-12. Powered by Snowflake, Connected Intelligence P20W allows education and government agencies to securely unify, integrate, and access all source system data in a state-specific data cloud. This provides insights into previously siloed, underutilized, and inaccessible data with unparalleled ease.  

This holistic high-performance system creates linked, anonymized data sets in near-real-time from early childhood, K–12, post-secondary, and workforce development systems. Connected Intelligence P20W is the first secure, turnkey enterprise solution with an extensible framework that’s financially sustainable and durable for the long term, unlike custom solutions that are difficult to maintain over time.  

The secure data-sharing technology supersedes legacy methods and enables unprecedented cross-sector collaboration. The integrated platform unleashes the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning by expanding access to all structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data. The advanced data processing capabilities in the cloud empower users with secure, on-demand access without limiting the number of entities or volumes of data to be analyzed.  

Additionally, the platform will continuously evolve with the benefit and best practices serving millions of individuals and thousands of entities around the globe.  

How Will Policymakers Use Connected Intelligence?

The economic success of individuals, families, businesses, and communities correlates closely with a region’s educational attainment and talent readiness. Connected Intelligence P20W will allow state leaders to identify future workforce needs and align K–12 and higher education systems to develop and invest in curricula and skills training that will prepare citizens for future careers. Real-time, on-demand research projects and data analyses will have a transformative impact on economies and citizens’ livelihoods. 

For policymakers, it provides the ability to generate insights at each stage and connect investments to outcomes from “cradle to career,” including: 

• Streamlining pathways to degrees 
• Simplifying supports for student success 
• Building and sustaining inclusive institutions that meet all students where they are 

Students must be adequately exposed to the career pathways wherein they possess natural skills and where they have the most potential to thrive. By providing relevant and timely information to leaders and policymakers on system-wide impact and outcomes, they are best positioned to redirect investments, programs, and resources in the most effective way possible.  

Policymakers and researchers are looking to understand the mental, physical, academic, social, and emotional impacts on students, staff, and communities. Connected Intelligence P20W will allow states to produce a library of equity and economic growth exemplars, guides, and action-oriented research that highlight practices in schools, districts, colleges, and other programs that have demonstrated success in closing gaps and driving upward mobility.  

Unifying and enabling near-real-time access to historic, current, and future data that was either previously unavailable or underutilized will help inform policy and investment required to: 

• Rectify the decline in post-secondary enrollment rates nationally 
• Measure and act on learning loss long-term 
• Address growing gaps with talent supply and workforce demand 
• Meet each student where they are by providing personalized supplemental learning opportunities 

How Will Academic Institutions, Education Leaders, and Students Benefit from Connected Intelligence?

The foremost purpose of Connected Intelligence is to help prevent government agencies from unnecessarily spending years building and operationalizing a P20W system, and instead to immediately start making use of their data cost-effectively. That way, they can maximize the time-to-value of unprecedented decision-making with the highest levels of data security, privacy, and governance. 

For policymakers, Connected Intelligence P20W will allow data-driven policies that drive inclusive growth, decrease the number of struggling families, improve educational attainment through optimal investments in early college, dual enrollment, accelerated programs, certification programs, apprenticeships, traditional higher education, and align students and educational institutions for emerging workforce needs.  

For academic institutions, Connected Intelligence further enables data-driven innovation to support student success and a powerful link to rapidly evolving workforce demands, including the opportunity to quickly adapt curricula to meet skills gaps. Ultimately, it will create frictionless pathways to the workforce and back to educational institutions for continuing education and lifelong learning. 

For students, Connected Intelligence P20W creates a lifetime link between their performance records, qualifications, interests, skills, and ultimate goals in the workforce. Democratized data in the hands of educators will help guide learners to success through personalized support. These new structures and supports help high school students develop and navigate clear pathways to postsecondary education and career preparation, accrue college credit, pursue industry-recognized, in-demand credentials, and gain direct experience in the workplace.