June 2018: Student Liaison Reports
Education technology and academic leaders in nine states offer suggestions to improve the use of student data in a report released by the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA).
The report — State Education Leadership for Interoperability: Leveraging Data for Academic Excellence — outlines seven practices including forming data governance boards.
In a study summary article for EdWeek Market Brief, associate editor Michele Molnar writes that figuring out how to fix this problem requires data interoperability of technology, which refers to the ability for apps to exchange data seamlessly in a secure and controlled way.
Right now, Molnar writes, that level of data exchange is more the exception than the rule in most educational technology. A major reason for this is that most states have systems from multiple vendors, and their districts have additional systems and applications that have had limited or no underlying data standards, according to the study. Agreeing on a plan to implement interoperability and the standards that go with it is a step that could help, writes Molnar.
The study is an outgrowth of an initial meeting held in December with representatives of the selected states and invited vendors, Tracy Weeks, executive director of SETDA said.
The conversation was “around what states are doing, what’s the vision for it and, if we started to build next steps to the best future, what would they be?” Included in the conversation were academic and technology representatives from the states’ departments of education, writes Molnar.
Seven practices were identified and recommended by the group. The first was to leverage implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which the group agreed is an “opportunity to drive change” because systems need to be interoperable to easily share data. Since each title within ESSA supports personalized learning with technology, the report recommends that states consider pooling their set-aside funds to engage in coordinated interoperability activities.
Other suggested practices include: forming data governance boards or structures; developing an implementation plan that’s flexible; sharing best practices; encouraging stakeholder buy-in; collaborating with districts; and communicating with vendors.
Click here to read the rest of the study summary article, which contains a link to the full study.