All members of Mayor Kellers task force are committed to improving Grand Citys educational system and community from the perspective representative of his or her institution, role, or
All members of Mayor Keller’s task force are committed to improving Grand City’s educational system and community from the perspective representative of his or her institution, role, or specialized expertise. The Grand City community at large is excited about the work being done and proposed by the task force
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8 Kappan February 2015
Parents need access to education data —
and need to know it’s secure
Privacy and school data
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Parents like data — when they know what they are and how they’re being used — and feel confi dent that they’re being kept private and secure.
Comments? Like PDK at www. facebook.com/pdkintl
Illustration: Thinkstock/iStock
E veryone with a stake in education — espe- cially parents — should understand the value of data and how it can benefi t their families. We know getting the right information into
the right hands at the right time can make a world of difference for America’s students. But most peo- ple aren’t hearing from their schools, districts, and states about how those data are being used. In fact, most parents hear “education data” and immediately think of test scores — and only test scores. While test results are an important piece of the data puzzle, they’re just one kind of information. What about teacher credentials and graduation rates? Or college enrollment and student growth over time? Not to mention the information schools use to keep buses running on time and hot meals coming through the lunch line. These types and uses of data are valuable, and parents should be aware of all the work that’s happening with them.
Parents like data — when they know what they are and how they’re being used — and feel confi dent that they’re being kept private and secure. That’s what the Data Quality Campaign (DQC) learned last spring when we convened parents of school-age chil- dren in Philadelphia, Phoenix, Kansas City, and Se- attle to talk about their concerns with the education system. The problem is most parents don’t know ex- actly what education data are. Who can blame them?
Trust through transparency Most parents trust their children’s teachers and
school districts. This was borne out in the most recent PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools, which found that 64% of the public has trust and confi dence in America’s public school teachers (Bushaw & Calderon, 2014). We need educators and schools to put that trust to work, sharing with parents the full who, what, why, when, and how of data use. This kind of transparency
is crucial to parents’ ability to understand how this information can be used to benefi t their child — and how it’s being kept private, secure, and confi dential. Without this information, people can’t trust that their children’s data are safe. And parents won’t al- low schools to use data if they don’t trust that they’re being kept safe.
Educators shouldn’t be alarmed by the important conversation about using student data and how data are being safeguarded. There is some misinforma- tion circulating through that discussion — some-
aIMEE roGStad GUIdEra ([email protected] org) is founder and executive director of the Data Quality Cam- paign, Washington, D.C.
Transparent communication about what kinds and how much data schools have about students offers the best way for parents and teachers to make education decisions.
By Aimee Rogstad Guidera
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10 Kappan February 2015
be prepared to speak to how data use is bolstering student success and to convey information beyond simple test scores and course grades that parents will find useful in monitoring their children’s success and making nuanced decisions about their education.
Again, transparency is the key to establishing trust among all parties. Last year, 36 states considered more than 100 bills on student data privacy, 30 of which became law (Data Quality Campaign, 2014b). The best ones have measures designed to answer the public’s most pressing and obvious questions about student data such as what exact pieces of informa- tion does the education system collect? New laws in Colorado and Missouri call for a public inven- tory of everything collected by the state. All states should provide this information to parents, and they should support districts and schools at the vanguard of communication with the public. With this trans- parency established, education leaders will be able to demonstrate not just how student data are being protected but how they’re being used to provide a better education for kids.
The task of communicating with parents often rests with districts, which also have a major role to play in transparency. A first step toward that trans- parency is ensuring that everyone in each school building is clear on district and state data-use policies and feels supported to use data effectively. Teachers shouldn’t be given an imperative to use data to im- prove instruction for students and then left in their classrooms to figure out things on their own. In- stead, states and districts must support teachers and principals to be data literate. A data literate educator can continuously, effectively, and ethically access, in- terpret, act on, and communicate multiple types of data from state, local, classroom, and other sources to improve outcomes for students.
States should support teacher data literacy through licensure policy and other means, like ensuring that all districts have the technical infrastructure and training practices to provide high-quality data. But districts should lead the implementation and play an important role in putting a structure around data literacy work and helping schools and teachers figure out what technology is appropriate in classrooms to help students and also to protect privacy. Teachers are the first and strongest communicators with par- ents about their children’s education, and a school faculty with a clear sense of their district’s programs and policies around data use will be able to share ac- curate information about the role of effective data use and about where parents can get answers to their questions.
Parent access to data A 2013 survey showed that 76% of parents think
times repeated in the media — but the dubious argu- ments are outweighed by legitimate concerns from parents and the public. As a parent myself, I under- stand the feeling. I want to know that my children’s information is being protected. Just as important, I want to know that it’s being used to advance their learning. Such transparency can strengthen relation- ships between parents and educators. The first step along that path is communication.
Many actors have a part to play in transparency, but it starts with state education leaders. Districts need clear guidance from the state so they can confidently support teachers’ data use, set their own policies, or ensure that schools are safeguarding state data.
Districts should push their states to establish that guidance, since they are at the front lines of com- munication and need answers to parent questions.
Conversations with parents Schools and districts should be prepared to answer
questions like, “How do I know my child’s privacy is being protected?” Schools and districts must de- velop and share explanations about their local pri- vacy and security policies. But districts also should
Districts need clear guidance from the state so they can confidently support teachers’ data use, set their own policies, or ensure that schools are safeguarding state data.
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workforce, providing a clearer picture of a student’s experience. They can develop analytic tools such as growth measures to help keep kids on track to graduation. And they can set statewide policies to support good data use. But most parents are not in- terested in which entity is providing the information — state, district, or school — as long as it’s useful. Choosing a high school, parents want to see gradu- ation rates that reflect reality — for example, that students change schools and districts throughout the year. They want to see how the school’s graduates fare in college and what the enrollment and reme- diation rates are. Only the state can piece together data from disparate sources to provide this essential information for parent decision making.
Yet states have a ways to go in producing reports meaningful to parents. Most states create student progress reports that provide information that parents and students can use to improve student achievement, but few tailor these reports to meet parent needs. For example, DQC’s Data for Action survey of states found that 41 states produce growth reports, but only 20 produce them with parents in mind (2014a). And what about access to their own
their children’s schools are providing a good or excel- lent quality of education (AP-NORC, 2013). Parents may trust their local schools and teachers, but many feel at a loss when it comes to making a difference themselves. Nearly all of them (96%) believe par- ent involvement is very important to their child’s education, but only 41% think they have substantial influence over the education their children receive at school. Access to useful, timely information about their child’s learning will help empower parents to be better advocates for their children. Indeed, two- thirds of parents say that information on changes in student test scores, on teachers’ academic and train- ing backgrounds, and on teachers’ ability to improve student outcomes is helpful in determining school quality. States and districts are responsible for ensur- ing that parents have that information.
I can relate to the frustration of feeling in the dark about my kids’ progress. (Is my child grasping the material? How can their teachers create lessons ap- propriate to their strengths and needs? Are they ready for next year? It’s all leading to the ultimate question: Are my kids prepared to graduate high school and go to college or get a job?) Education data can be a powerful tool in answering those questions but only if the information is getting into parents’ hands.
The right kind of data — useful, trustworthy, timely, and easy to find — can serve many purposes. Information about children’s progress in school helps parents establish expectations, have meaning- ful conversations with their children’s teachers, and take action to support their children’s success. In- formation about their children’s current school and other schools helps parents understand the quality of the schools in their communities where they include indicators such as college remediation rates and the percentage of a high school’s graduates who enroll in a four-year university.
While schools and districts provide some informa- tion to parents about their own children’s progress, states also have a role in ensuring that parents have access to data about their children’s academic per- formance. States have access to limited but critical student data collected by schools. They can use their resources — including technical expertise and finan- cial support — to produce student progress reports and customized tools to help parents make informed decisions about their children’s education. States also can support districts in their efforts to pro- vide parents with information about their children’s academic achievement, helping parents choose the schools, courses, and programs that best meet their needs.
States can supplement the work of smaller, less affluent districts. They can link individual student information from K-12 to postsecondary to the
Communicating about exactly what data are and how they’re used is essential to building trust between parents and schools.
* Deepen your understanding of this article with questions and activities in this month’s Kappan Professional Development Discussion Guide by Lois Brown Easton. Download a PDF of the guide at kappan magazine.org.
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12 Kappan February 2015
that help paint a full picture of their child’s learning experience.
Communication around what data are and how they’re used also is essential. DQC’s infographic Who Uses Student Data? (pp. 40-41 in this issue) illustrates the types of data collected by school systems and where they do (and don’t) travel when they leave the classroom. We developed the info- graphic largely to help policy makers understand and communicate about laws involving education data, but the response from teachers and parents has been overwhelmingly positive. Parents are hungry for easy-to-understand information that explains just what these systems are and how they work.
Beyond explaining the limitations around what data can be collected, we’ve also found that par- ents want more specifi cs about the value of data. Another recent DQC infographic, Ms. Bullen’s Data-Rich Year (http://dataqualitycampaign.org/ fi nd-resources/infographic-ms-bullens-data-rich- year), broadens the notion of what data are and shows how educators can use that additional information to improve student outcomes in many ways throughout the school year.
Communicating about exactly what data are and how they’re used is essential to building trust be- tween parents and their school systems. And com- municating about the full breadth of tools and re- sources that can be brought to life by data can go beyond trust and actually build demand for effective data use. Smart data use has the power to transform children’s lives. Parents should know this and have access to data to help make that transformation a reality. K
References
AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (2013). National
education survey. Chicago, IL: Author. www.apnorc.org/
PDFs/Parent%20Attitudes/AP-NORC%20National%20
Education%20Survey%20Topline_FINAL.pdf
Bushaw, W.J. & Calderon, V.J. (2014, October). 46th annual
PDK/Gallup poll of the public’s attitudes toward the public
schools. Americans put teacher quality on center stage. Phi
Delta Kappan, 96 (2), 48-59. www.pdkpoll.org
Data Quality Campaign. (2014a). Data for action 2014.
Washington, DC: Author. http://dataqualitycampaign.org/
DFA2014
Data Quality Campaign. (2014b). State student data privacy
legislation: What happened in 2014, and what is next?
Washington, DC: Author. http://dataqualitycampaign.org/fi nd-
resources/state-student-data-privacy-legislation-2014
children’s data that follows their progress over time? Only 17 states provide that to parents. More focus from the state on providing parents good, timely in- formation will support district efforts to get quality information to parents, especially in smaller districts with fewer resources.
What works? States and districts are already acting to ensure
that parents have access to good information. For example, Georgia encourages data as the starting point for conversations between parents and teach- ers. The state’s virtual “tunnel” links data from a single state system directly to district-level student information systems and lets district administrators, principals, teachers, and parents access state educa- tion data through their district’s existing program. Local teachers and parents have access to detailed longitudinal data to support children in the class- room and at home. Denver Public Schools allows parents to use data to ensure their children are meet- ing key academic milestones and making progress over time. The district’s Digital Door, a secure and user-friendly data portal, gives parents timely reports
Parents want more specifi cs about the value of data.
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Beyond “Autopsy Data”
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ARTICLE
Beyond “Autopsy Data”
Bolstering Teacher Leadership, Morale, and School Improvement
William Sterrett and Eric Irizarry format_quote CITE
© 2014 The University Council for Educational Administration https://doi.org/10.1177/1555458914551828Published inJournal of Cases in Educational Leadership PublisherSAGE Publications ISSN1555-4589 eISSN1555-4589 Volume18 Issue1 Pages3 – 13 Abstract
Teacher working conditions surveys provide biennial, comprehensive data regarding school leadership. This case describes how a Title I middle school principal proactively addresses end-of-year data to address identified needs and growth areas in a collaborative manner in her middle school. The principal works in a concerted manner with an assistant principal, district liaison, and teacher leaders to make a collaborative correction in her school to foster time in collaboration, increased teacher leadership, and enhanced professional development.
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Figure 1. Identified conditions for teacher leadership. Source. York-Barr and Duke (2004). get_app
subtitles Table 1.
Item Question Percent agree 2012 Jefferson Middle 2014 Jefferson Middle Time Q2.1 b Teachers have time available to collaborate with colleagues. 33 38 Q2.1 f Teachers have sufficient instructional time to meet the needs of all students. 40 40 Facilities and resources Q3.1 f The school environment is clean and well maintained. 42 88 Q3.1 h The physical environment of classrooms in this school supports teaching and learning. 49 79 Community support and involvement Q4.1 b This school maintains clear, two-way communication with the community. 55 68 Q4.1 c Collepals.com Plagiarism Free Papers
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