State education official outlines postsecondary outcomes metric, acknowledges data gaps

Dr. Harwood, a presenter to the House Committee on Education, described the state board’s postsecondary outcomes goal and explained how the department measures graduates’ progress two years after high school.

Why it matters: Lawmakers seeking to align K‑12 policy with workforce and higher‑education needs asked how the state measures whether graduates are enrolled in education or earning credentials after high school and how the state will capture veterans, workforce entrants and students not enrolled in public systems.

Dr. Harwood said the postsecondary outcomes metric counts a student as successful if, within two years of high‑school graduation, they have earned an industry‑recognized credential while in high school, are continuously enrolled in a postsecondary program (for example returning for a sophomore year), or are enrolled in an 18–21 program for students with disabilities. The state multiplies that postsecondary outcomes percentage by the four‑year cohort graduation rate to compute an “effectiveness rate.” The state board’s goal is 70–75 percent, a target range the presenter said is tied to a Georgetown University study that projected 70–75 percent of future jobs will require education beyond high school.

The committee heard that the department currently relies on the National Student Clearinghouse for college enrollment and completion data, which does not capture military service or some non‑federal postsecondary programs. Dr. Harwood said the department has begun data‑sharing work with the Department of Revenue and Department of Labor and is pursuing a pilot to obtain some military enrollment information so the state can better count veterans.

Committee members pressed how the metric treats students who enter the workforce directly (for example in construction trades) and students who earn industry certificates rather than college enrollment. Dr. Harwood said industry‑recognized credentials can be counted; the metric currently does not capture many labor‑market entries unless the credential or wage data are reported and matched. He said SGOs and districts sometimes award certifications (welding, OSHA, policing academy) that the department can count if they are industry recognized and reported.

Members also raised concerns about students who do not test well on state assessments but succeed in careers; the presenter said the department intends to expand its longitudinal data linkage so wage and labor data can be brought into the student record (subject to data‑sharing agreements and privacy rules). The presentation noted the department’s work on confidence intervals and a regression model that predicts expected postsecondary outcomes for districts based on demographics (poverty, chronic absenteeism, English‑language learner status, special education), then highlights districts that exceed expectations for recognition.

Dr. Harwood acknowledged limitations: the state does not currently track homeschool students, and public virtual‑school students are included only if they are enrolled in public programs that report data. He suggested that, where necessary, legislative action (for example to amend the Kansas Student Data Privacy Act) might be required to enable broader data sharing; the presenter said the department will bring specific requests if it hits legal or policy roadblocks.

In closing, the presenter said the department will continue refining the metric, expand partnerships with labor and revenue agencies, and provide legislators with additional charts and district‑level confidence intervals so lawmakers can better compare outcomes across demographically similar districts.