Education Director Earns National Award

Nashville, TN – Tennessee Department of Education Director of Data Quality Corey Chatis received the 2007 State Data Director Award from the national Data Quality Campaign. The DQC is a project of the National Center for Educational Accountability to improve the collection of reliable education data needed to guide school improvement efforts. Chatis is leading Tennessee’s initiatives to improve the integrity of education data that education leaders and policymakers rely on.

“Corey has done exceptional work coordinating the massive volume of data collected by our organization, instilling sound practices and creating a foundation that will move Tennessee to the forefront in data quality,” Deputy Commissioner Tim Webb said. “Her work ethic and dedication to education in Tennessee is to be commended.”

Among Ms. Chatis’ responsibilities is the development of a longitudinal data system funded by a $3.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. This emerging approach empowers states to store and analyze education data over time and to discern which education strategies work and what areas need improvement. Examples of information tracked by this data warehouse include student-level assessment, discipline, truancy, attendance and exit status statistics. Already, Tennessee’s longitudinal data system satisfies eight of 10 essential elements as defined by the DQC; only three states meet all 10.

Ms. Chatis represents Tennessee as appointed chair of a national committee on longitudinal data systems. She also leads the department’s Data Management Committee in establishing uniformity and collaboration among the 20-plus divisions that collect data from local school systems. This data is used for reporting and accountability to the U.S. Department of Education and the public.

The DQC supports state initiatives to improve student achievement using information provided by a longitudinal collection of high-quality data. The DCQ was founded in 2005 with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. For more information, visit http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/.

For more information, contact Rachel Woods at (615) 253-1960 or Rachel.Woods@state.tn.us.