Technology and Student 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:

• 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)
• 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)

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. (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.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