Data & Privacy – Envisioning
(40-59%)
Element: Data and Data Systems
Description: To facilitate data-driven decision making, appropriate data (i.e., data dashboards and data analytics) are readily available, easily comprehensible, and useful for supporting the decision making processes. The data are available at any time, on any desktop, and from any location, made available through real-time access to data dashboards, data analytics, and data warehouses.
Possible Next Step: District leaders envision how online assessments and data systems will operate in the context of other district reforms. They are working to ensure data are readily available, secure, easily comprehensible, and useful for supporting the decision making process.
Element: Data Policies, Procedures, and Practices
Description: Using the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) as the basis, the district has up-to-date policies, procedures, and practices that address legal, ethical, and safety issues related to the privacy and security of data, and the usage of data, technology, and the Internet. Such policies, procedures and practices address the collection, storage, analysis, reporting, transmission, and archiving of data, as well as the usage of data, the Internet, and technology by students and education professionals in the course of teaching, learning, communications, and the management of school services.
Possible Next Step: District leaders conduct in-district discussions with policymakers related to the legal, ethical, and safety issues related to privacy and security of data in schools. They secure common understanding among district leaders on the topic.
Element: Data-Informed Decision Making
Description: The use of formative and summative assessment data is part of the school culture, with administrators, teachers, and, perhaps most importantly, students actively using this data to improve learning. Assessment is not viewed as punitive, but rather as part of the teaching and learning process. There is an expectation in the district that data will inform all teaching and learning practices and decisions. This is modeled at all levels of the school system, from administration to the students themselves.
Possible Next Step: District leaders re-envision the district as a strong data culture. Scenarios within that vision incorporate all aspects of the process, including typical days in the lives of students, staff members, and parents operating in such a culture.
Element: Data Literate Education Professionals
Description: Educators in the system are data-literate. They are aware of the legal and ethical responsibility to ensure security, accuracy, and privacy in the collection, analysis, exchange of, and reporting of data. They understand the potential uses and misuses of data in the teaching and learning process and act accordingly. All education professionals in the district use data to inform instructional and administrative decision making. Data literacy extends to students as well as curricula are reviewed and updated to make effective use of evidence and data a priority for all.
Possible Next Step: District leaders create a new vision for a data-based environment that includes scenarios defining an informed, well-trained, knowledgeable staff and data-savvy students.