| Technology and
School Administration
Technology is a defining factor that
enables schools to access, analyze, and use that data
to improve results and increase student achievement.
Here are some best practices:
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In a 2004 survey, school leaders
reported they see technology as a tool to improve
productivity and efficiency: 74 percent say technology
provides timely data for decision making; 71 percent
say it improves support staff efficiency; 71 percent
say it increases administrators’ productivity;
70 percent say it improves communications among
parents, teachers and the community; and 61 percent
say it increases teacher productivity. In the
same survey, school leaders in nearly eight out
of 10 districts (78 percent) say they use data
captured by technology to drive decision-making,
including nearly 9 out of 10 (89 percent) of large
districts. (Digital Leadership Divide, 2004) |
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In New York City and Chicago,
more than 90 percent of school leaders use Web-based
reports of results from end-of-year and interim
assessments on standards-based tests for school
planning and professional development. New York
City administrators say these reports help them
to identify class-, grade-, and school-wide strengths
and weaknesses; frame conversations about student
learning with teachers, parents, and other administrators;
and address school or district challenges. Further,
New York City’s 30,000 teachers use these
reports to understand individual students’
strengths and weaknesses in English language arts
and math assessments— and access standards-based
curriculum and instructional resources online
to focus on specific needs. (Light et al., 2005)
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Technology Improves Student Information
Technology improves the way schools
use and analyze student information and assessments.
NCLB has accelerated the use of technology to manage
student information and assess and track student progress.
Technology makes it possible for educators to access
real time information—and use this information
to help students learn and achieve at higher levels.
Here are some best practices:
| • |
82 percent of school districts
own or lease student information systems, according
to 2004 Quality Education Data survey of school
curriculum directors. The surveys confirm a significant
move toward technologies that support the building
blocks of student assessment: |
| |
| • |
56 percent of districts
plan to purchase or enhance their student
information systems, while in 2003 only
38 percent of districts were reported by
school technology directors to have similar
plans. |
| • |
70 percent of districts
plan to purchase or enhance their instructional
management systems, whereas in 2003 only
33 percent did. |
| • |
71 percent of districts
reported plans to purchase or enhance their
assessment software applications; in 2003,
only 24 percent had such plans. |
|
| • |
When Patrick Henry Elementary
School in the Cleveland Municipal School District
set a goal of reducing unexcused absences, the
school created a weekly data report and e-mailed
it to every teacher in the school. It showed every
unexcused absence by grade, homeroom, and student.
Teachers had the information they needed to contact
parents. The cases of students with significant
attendance problems were referred to the school
attendance liaison. By the end of the year, the
school had reduced unexcused absences from 9 percent
of attendance to 2 percent. (From Vision to Action,
2005) |
| • |
Teachers in Community Consolidated
School District (CCSD) 15 in Palatine, Il., find
that electronic diagnostic tools save time and
help measure the effectiveness of particular lessons.
Students use laptops to take diagnostic tests
from a Web-based assessment program. The electronic
tests are scored and entered automatically—with
feedback on next steps for both students and teachers.
Effective data management is a key to success
throughout the district as well, thanks to an
Education Data Warehouse, which tracks student
performance indicators. CCSD 15 won the 2003 Baldrige
Quality Award. |
Citations
Consortium for School Networking. (2004).
Digital Leadership Divide: Without Visionary Leadership,
Disparities in School Technology Budgets Increase.
http://www.cosn.org/resources/grunwald/digital_leadership_divide.pdf
Consortium for School Networking. (2005, January).
From Vision to Action: How School Districts Use Data
to Improve Performance.
http://3d2know.cosn.org/publications.html
Center for Children and Technology.
(2005, January). Light, D., Honey, M., Heinze, J.,
Brunner, C., Wexler, D., Mandinach, E., & Fasca,
C. Linking Data and Learning—The Grow Network
Study: Summary Report.
http://info.grow.net/
Web Sites
http://www.qeddata.com/pubs_Software.htm
http://www.scholastic.com/administrator/technology/business.htm
http://3d2know.cosn.org/best_practices/district_15.html
http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/baldrige2003/CCSD_REV_3.3.04.pdf
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