Turning Student Data into Intelligence

No matter how many students a school or district has, one thing remains the same--the vital importance of tracking student attendance, grades, standardized test scores, school or district transfers, and more. Administrators, teachers, students, and parents all depend on a reliable Student Information System (SIS) to give accurate reports and updates.

And the U.S Department of Education's announcement that it will require schools to use a uniform method to calculate graduation and dropout rates highlights the need for easy-to-use products that can be seamlessly installed and quickly learned.

With the generous support of Pearson School Systems, we've compiled stories from the eSchool News archives, as well as some best practices and additional resources to help your school staff make the most informed decision as possible when considering SIS implementation.


--The Editors

 

News Stories

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    Schools lagging in use of digital assessments
    Schools and colleges have made great progress in using technology to supporttheir enterprise-level programs and in providing new learning tools to students,but according to a new survey from the Software and Information IndustryAssociation (SIIA), most still fall short in using digital assessments totarget instructional needs precisely. [ Read More ]

     

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    Free online tool targets 'military brats'
    A new web site will allow children from military families to compare states'academic standards and take a free online test to identify the gaps in theirunderstanding as they move to a new state with different testing and curriculum.[ Read More ]

     

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    Online grade-tracking programs are popular, but raise stress levels
    The New York Times reports that a profusion of online programs that can tracka student's daily progress is changing the nature of communication betweenparents and children, families, and teachers ... and sometimes increasesfamily tension. [ Read More ]

     

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    ED wants uniform dropout, graduation rates
    The Bush administration sought on April 22 to bolster its signature educationlaw, proposing new rules designed to address the nation's dropout problemand ensure educators pay close attention to the achievement of minority students.[ Read More ]

     

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    Educators glimpse the future of assessment
    What would assessment look like, if you could reinvent it using 21st-centurytools? The question was posed during a Jan. 25 presentation by Harvard Universityprofessor Chris Dede at the Florida Educational Technology Conference (FETC)in Orlando. And his answer revealed a vision for assessment that is muchricher and potentially more useful than what currently exists in schools.[ Read More ]

     

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    SIS software evolves to meet complex needs
    With a heightened focus on accountability spurring the use of data to trackstudent progress, a robust student information system (SIS) has becomea critical component of today's school systems. And companies are strivingto meet this need by developing ever more dynamic software. [ Read More ]

     

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    Bill Gates calls for ed-data center
    America needs a Center for State Education Data to aggregate student informationand identify what works and what doesn't in our schools, Microsoft ChairmanBill Gates told Congress on March 7. [ Read More ]

     

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    Study: SIF pays off for schools
    For years, since the Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF) first was announcedin 1999, school leaders have heard the promises: SIF will make school softwareprograms interoperable, regardless of their manufacturer; it will eliminatethe need for multiple data entry; and it will streamline and transform schooladministrative functions. [ Read More ]

     

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    SIF 2.0 promises to ease data integration
    Making disparate software programs work together to exchange informationis a constant challenge for educators. Often, educators find that criticalstudent information is housed in a variety of applications that cannot easilyexchange these data. While data integration is possible, it is usually time-consuming,ineffective, and expensive. [ Read More ]

     

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    Pearson buys Chancery Software
    In another stunning development in the student information system (SIS) marketfor schools, industry leader Pearson School Systems said it is acquiringCanadian SIS provider Chancery Software Ltd. for an undisclosed sum. Themove marks the second Pearson acquisition of a major SIS competitor withina week; on May 25, the company announced plans to purchase Apple Computer'sPowerSchool division. [ Read More ]

     

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    Pearson buys Apple's PowerSchool
    Pearson School Systems, a division of British media giant Pearson PLC, hasagreed to buy Apple Computer's PowerSchool division, which makes a studentinformation system (SIS) by the same name that enables parents, students,and teachers to monitor grades and homework assignments via the web. As partof the deal, terms of which were not disclosed, Pearson said it would developeducational content for teachers and students that is compatible with Apple'spopular iPod music and video player. [ Read More ]

     

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    Automatic eMail alerts keep parents well informed
    Fairbanks, Alaska, parent Mike Beck now can check his daughter's test scoresand attendance records on the internet while enjoying his morning coffee.Absences, grades, homework assignments, messages from teachers--Beck hasaccess to it all. [ Read More ]

     

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    Symposium explores open technologies
    Open-source technologies hold great promise for education--but for this promiseto be fully realized, a dramatic shift in thinking must occur, accordingto representatives from the ed-tech industry, nonprofit organizations, andacademic institutions from around the world. [ Read More ]

     

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    Real-time access to student data leads to real school reform
    School leaders are faced with the continuing challenge of effectively meetingthe needs of every learner. At Western Heights Independent School Districtin Oklahoma, a district of six schools and 3,100 students, we've developeda model to harness emerging technologies to deliver real-time, relevant informationon student performance to every teacher in every classroom. [ Read More ]

     

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    Wyoming to create statewide data system
    In a major advancement for the Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF)--aset of standards for transferring student data seamlessly and automaticallyfrom one software program to another, regardless of platform or manufacturer--theWyoming Department of Education is moving forward with the first fully statewideimplementation of SIF-compliant technology. [ Read More ]

     

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    Ed tech helps propel 'National Principal of the Year'
    Jill Martin, 2007 National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP)/MetLifeNational Principal of the Year, credits much of her school's success to itsjudicious use of technology--from data systems that help teachers personalizetheir instruction of students, to an online grading and attendance systemthat has strengthened the home-school connection. [ Read More ]

     

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    Report highlights exemplary data use
    The nonprofit Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) has released a newreport as part of its multi-year "Data-driven Decision Making: Vision to Know and Do" initiative, a cross-industry effort to help educators use data to improve instruction. [ Read More ]

 

Additional resources

Comparison of student information systems
This Wikipedia page compares a variety of different SIS products
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_student_information_systems

Powering Performance in Education
A commentary on where we have been and where we are going in education technology
View the PDF here