Smarter Data Systems: Urban Districts Lead the Way
Part VII of the Five Principles for Smarter Data Systems series–a guest post from Lori Fey, Director Policy Initiatives, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation:
Bill Tucker and the Education Sector make important and relevant points about next-generation data systems in Five Design Principles for Smarter Data Systems to Support Student Learning. We should recognize, however, that data systems that use better information about teaching and learning to improve outcomes for every student are in use in many districts across the United States.
Urban districts like Denver, Dallas, Chicago, Houston and New York are already providing educators with information that helps predict and manage student achievement, rather than just track it. In a classroom with 30 different individuals, each has his or her own unique story. With next-generation data systems in these districts, those stories – as found within the data – can be accurate, holistic, and readily available to a teacher. Those data stories tell where a student has excelled and experienced challenges, give insight into ways to help a student improve performance, and help guide and determine the effectiveness of the teacher her/himself. And often, the data story debunks the conventional wisdom about what we think we know by providing an accurate view of the overall performance of a student, a class and a school.
State education agencies are taking note of the successes of pioneering districts and looking to scale the capabilities of performance management and next generation systems to serve the needs of all classrooms. In Texas, for example,