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This issue previews a new report released by the Department of Education regarding the use of Management Information Systems in education.

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Department of Ed Pushes for Education Management Systems
Releases New Report on Use of Data Systems to Support Reform

States and districts are making significant progress in building educational data systems and are starting to use that valuable data to change classroom practices and improve student achievement, according to a new report released by the U.S. Department of Education.
But school leaders are still searching for the best models to mine the data to discover the best instructional methods for students, the report says.

Research from 529 Districts, Over 6,000 Teachers

The report, entitled Use of Education Data at the Local Level: from Accountability to Instructional Improvement, summarizes research from 529 districts, including in-depth site visits to 36 schools in 12 districts deemed to be leading the way in data usage. In addition, it analyzes secondary data from a survey of over 6,000 teachers to obtain a national picture of current data use practices at the local-level.

Findings include that data-driven decision making is an ongoing process rather than a one-time event centered on the acquisition of a data system. Districts will get more out of their investments in electronic data systems if they think about data-driven decision making as a system-wide innovation and develop a long-term strategy for its implementation as part of a continuous improvement process.

MIS Should Influence Daily Instruction

To influence teachers’ day-to-day instruction, the report states that data systems must provide teachers with information that is both timely and relevant to their instructional decisions. To be useful to teachers, systems need to provide data from recently given assessments that provide diagnostic information on students’ learning needs.

Human and organizational supports for data use are just as important as the technical quality of the data system, according to the report. Professional development around data use is widespread, but only a small minority of districts and schools have made data use a regular part of teachers’ practice.

Districts can promote data-driven decision making in schools by providing time for teachers to meet with colleagues to discuss and use data. They can fund positions for instructional coaches who help teachers connect data to alternative instructional approaches. And they can model data-driven decision making for continuous improvement in their own operations.

Connect Student Data to Instructional Practice

The report also concludes that districts’ greatest perceived need is to learn how to connect student data to instructional practices. Among teachers, there is a need to enhance their assessment interpretation and data use skills.

This report reflects one of the long term goals of No Child Left Behind as it was conceived during the Bush administration and embraced as a lynch pin to the current reform efforts of the Obama administration. One vision of the Department of Education under the leadership of Secretary Arne Duncan is to move toward a state-wide management information system that allows state education officials to manage the education process. This vision includes the ability to drill down to the classroom level to determine the progress of individual students and then to summarize performance by class, by school, by district, by region and so forth.

The complete report appears on the Department of Education website, www.ed.gov. A more detailed summary of the report will appear in the February 28 issue of School Marketing Newsletter (SMN). If you are not already a subscriber, you can receive a risk-free subscription to SMN by going to www.SMRIinc.com, then click on newsletter, then click on subscribe. Read each issue for one full year. If at the end of that time you don’t feel it is well worth its low price, email us your cancellation. We’ll issue a prompt, complete refund, no questions asked.