DATA-DRIVEN WORK

Chattanooga 2.0 holds data at the forefront of all cradle-to-career strategies and initiatives and our partners should use this data dashboard to both inform and strengthen their work.

Led by our Data Council, comprehensive, aligned, and timely collection and reporting of data across early care, education, and youth services can be used to better inform resource allocation and community planning, provide disaggregated data on participant demographics and workforce composition, and to measure progress and outcomes.

Data collection and analysis can help social sector agencies identify meaningful trends across populations. Utilizing the below data can also help programs hone in on narrowly defined geographic areas and subgroups to more clearly understand the unique challenges and resources in each community.

We believe in making data and information easily digestible and widely shared among community leaders, officials, and residents to inform evidence-based policy-making.

Contributing indicators are the variables that will have a direct impact on the core goal we are attempting to achieve. For example, the number of students enrolling in college or credentialing courses directly impacts the number of students who will attain postsecondary success. Fewer students enrolling would indicate that fewer students will graduate. Therefore, postsecondary enrollment is a contributing indicator for postsecondary completion.

Contextual indicators are quantifiable variables which we will use to help describe and measure the wider cradle-to-career system. These indicators give a picture of how the community is doing overall. For example, if the unemployment rate is at an all-time high, this might indicate that the goal of obtaining a thriving wage job is harder to achieve and therefore will be lower.

KINDERGARTEN READINESS

Why this matters:

Language and literacy skills vary among students entering Kindergarten. For those students who are not equipped with these and social emotional skills, they will start school behind. In Hamilton County, 89% of students who do not test Kindergarten ready are still behind by third grade.

HOW IT’S MEASURED:

Kindergarten Entrance Screener
The percent of kindergarten students who scored “meeting or exceeding expectations on the HCS Read20 Screener”

THIRD-GRADE READING PROFICIENCY

Why this matters:

Reading is the most crucial academic skill because it is the foundation for learning. Third grade is the time when students stop learning to read and begin reading to learn. Without a strong foundation in reading, children are left behind at the beginning of their education. Children who do not read on grade level by third grade are 4x less likely to graduate from high school by age 19 than a child who reads proficiently by that time. These rates increase dramatically for students living in poverty.

HOW IT’S MEASURED:

Reading Proficiency
Percent of 3rd graders who score proficient on the state test

college & career ready graduates

Why this matters:

“Ready Graduates” are defined by the state of Tennessee as students who meet success milestones that increase their probability of seamlessly enrolling in postsecondary education and securing high-quality employment. Simply put, College and Career Ready Graduates receive supports during their K-12 education to graduate from high school on time and prepared for their next step. Increasing the number of students who graduate from high school college-and career-ready ensures that more students are ultimately connected with good jobs and a meaningful career.

HOW IT’S MEASURED:

Ready Graduates
Percent of high school students who earn a diploma from a Tennessee high school and meet success milestones that increase their probability of seamlessly enrolling in postsecondary education and securing high-quality employment.

postsecondary attainment

Why this matters:

Today, 65% of jobs in the United States require some form of postsecondary education or training, and that number will only continue to increase in the years to come, further accelerated by COVID-19’s economic disruption. In the Chattanooga region, it is estimated that 6,000 jobs requiring a high school diploma will not return post-pandemic. In today’s economy, some form of higher education is a necessity for individual economic opportunity and America’s competitiveness in the global economy. A postsecondary education means higher lifetime earnings, lower jobless rates, a competitive edge in the global marketplace and is also linked to improved health outcomes, community vitality, and prevention of criminal justice involvement.

HOW IT’S MEASURED:

Postsecondary Attainment within Six Years
Percent of all high school graduates who go on to complete a postsecondary degree or credential within 6 years as calculated by the National College Attainment Network

Contributing Indicators:

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

young adults earning thriving wage

Why this matters:

Chattanooga 2.0 defines a Thriving Wage as the annual income needed for a single 18 to 25 year-old to live and contribute to a thriving economy in our county and is currently calculated at $32,000 or more annually. As the rates of college-and-career readiness and postsecondary attainment increase, so too should the share of young adults earning a Thriving Wage in our community.

HOW IT’S MEASURED:

Thriving Wage
18-25 Year Olds making an annual income of $32,000+, which is the amount regarded to be a “thriving wage” for young adults in that age band

Contributing Indicators:

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

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Early Learning Program Participation

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

percent of children under 3 receiving developmental screenings

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

Number of mixed income early learning classrooms

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

Access to quality early childhood health services

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

Child health coverage

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

Access to child mental health services

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

Turnover rate for early childhood professionals

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

Average and/or median compensation for early learning professionals

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

Families with children 0-5 living at 50%, 100% and 200% FPL

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

Full-term, healthy weight births

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

Families with children 0-5 experiencing homelessness

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

Infant Mortality

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contextual indicator. Check back for updates.

Poverty Ratio

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contextual indicator. Check back for updates.

Mental Health

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contextual indicator. Check back for updates.

Physical Health

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contextual indicator. Check back for updates.

Special Education

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contextual indicator. Check back for updates.

Unemployment Rate

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contextual indicator. Check back for updates.

Teen Birth Rate

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contextual indicator. Check back for updates.

Undocumented Learners

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contextual indicator. Check back for updates.

Foster Care

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contextual indicator. Check back for updates.

Homelessness & Transience

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contextual indicator. Check back for updates.

Racial and Economic Disparities

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contextual indicator. Check back for updates.

Broadband internet access

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contextual indicator. Check back for updates.

Chronic Absenteeism

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

Suspension and Expulsion Rates

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

Teacher Diversity

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

School Culture

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

Family and Community Engagement

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

Out-of-School Time Program Participation

Percent of youth 5 to 16 participating in out-of-school time programs
We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

Special Education Inclusion

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

Availability of wraparound services

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

Enrollment and Completion of Early postsecondary opportunities

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

ACT Participation and Performance

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

Ratio of college advisors

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

High school graduation

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

Postsecondary enrollment

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

FAFSA Completion

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.

First-year postsecondary retention

We are in the process of compiling detailed, disaggregated data for each contributing indicator. Check back for updates.