Partnership in Practice: Jointly Building and Using Delaware’s Early Literacy Data System

Abstract We introduce the Delaware Early Literacy Research-Practice Partnership (DEL RPP), a partnership between the University of Delaware and the Delaware Department of Education focused on studying, supporting, and ultimately improving literacy for Delaware children in the early elementary grades. The initial activities of the partnership have focused on planning and the construction of a shared data system. This data system enables analyses not previously available to university or department researchers, and we provide a formative example of these analyses—focusing on the meaning of the cut score on the state’s kindergarten entry assessment in literacy. We reflect on the challenges encountered in the first year of the partnership, including how we have addressed each so far, and conclude by describing the upcoming work of the partnership.