Are Some Children’s Data Too Old to Be Useful? Thoughts from a Guest Blogger

This guest post comes to us from Rob Shotwell, chair of the Yuba County Children’s Council. If you have a data question or issue you’d like to express through a guest post on Data Points, e-mail us at [email protected].

We did a Children’s Report Card in 2007 for the first time.  It reflected what many other county report cards have reflected, and in most of the categories that kidsdata.org uses.  The frustrating thing that we experienced then was the age of the data. In 2007, we were forced to use data that was 2 to 4 years old.  Some data were current (previous year), but most were not.

This diminishes the usefulness for documents such as county Report Cards or this website. The data are interesting two or three years later, but not as useful for planning a timely response in areas where the data indicate a clear problem.  A local response to such a problem, of course, depends upon state and federal resources, but counties and school districts have less leverage when the data available are not current.

Obviously, the data are collected/recorded locally, and are compiled on a state and national level.  This system is ponderous and inefficient; however, I admit I don’t know the solution to the data dilemma.  Current data would have more of a punch when we approach our local Boards of Supervisors, county executive management, Offices of Education, county Superintendants of Education, city councils and even the state legislature.

It’s difficult to present this data, then explain why some of it is older and why current data was not available, THEN reach a conclusion or recommendation.

Our efforts on behalf of child health and safety I’m sure are comparable to what other counties are doing, given the current economy and state budget in California.  While kidsdata.org continues to be helpful in some of the areas because the data are current, some is interesting but less impactful because of its age.  Nonetheless, I and I’m sure my colleagues will continue to use Kids Data as a primary source of annual information for Yuba County.

Editor’s Comment: If you’ve experienced similar issues with the age of data you’re using, or if you know of a solution, please note it here.

Tags: Data Challenges

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