The data presented in the Linked Learning Data Mart comes primarily from three sources –  Linked Learning Certification, Linked Learning Analytics, and publicly reported school data.

Linked Learning Certification

Linked Learning Certification helps schools improve their pathway over time, unlocks benefits for students, and gives schools the recognition they deserve. Pathways elect to register on Linked Learning Certification to express their affiliation with Linked Learning, and submit evidence to indicate a level of pathway quality. Pathways can work through three certification levels: Candidate, Silver, and Gold. The standards for each certification level were defined by leaders in the Linked Learning field and affirmed by the Linked Learning Alliance Board of Directors. Achieving each certification level unlocks additional benefits for pathway educators and students. Data from the Linked Learning Certification platform is combined with other sources of data presented on the Linked Learning Data Mart.

Linked Learning Analytics

The second source of data is Linked Learning Analytics. Districts that elect to participate in Linked Learning Analytics submit student data from the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) along with Smarter Balanced Test and California English Language Development Test (CELDT) results. In addition, districts submit a file to indicate which students are enrolled in which pathways in their district. This enables us to create pathway level metrics and provide pathway level student outcomes. In the “How are Students Performing?” section, we aggregate data from all districts participating in the Linked Learning Analytics system to review student outcomes for students in Linked Learning pathways that have achieved Silver certification or above compared to their peers who are not in pathways.

Publicly Reported Data

The third source of data used to populate the Linked Learning Data Mart includes publicly reported school and district data. The “Facts About Pathways” section enables users to search for pathways based on location. Data for California schools was pulled from public data available on governmental sites such as the California State Legislature and the US Census Bureau. Finally, each pathway has a “Pathway Detail” section, which includes school level enrollment and demographic data for California schools available on California Department of Education’s DataQuest.