CODE77 Rubrics for Administrators 2010 Part 2 of 10

I warned you these were coming.

Self-evaluation Rubrics for Basic Administrative Technology Use (2002) 2010

Finagles 2nd Law: Always keep a record of data - it indicates you’ve been working.

II.          Student Information Systems Use (TSSA Standards IV.A, V.A, V.C)  NETS-A 2009 (4b. 4e)

Level One:             My office staff uses a stand-alone student information system to keep track of basic student data and information needed for district and state reports. Networked access is not given.

Level Two One:             My office uses a student information system to accurately track student information including parental contact information, grade reports, discipline reports, and health records. The system is used to build a master class schedule. Selected building personnel and I can access the system through the network and use it for decision-making purposes. The system is secure and back-up procedures are in place. 

Level Three Two:             Appropriate student information is used by all staff as well as by building leaders. Teachers are trained and proficient in its use. The system is integrated with a district census database that is also tied to finance, transportation, and personnel/payroll records. I know the philosophy of SIF (School Interoperability Framework) and use it as a criterion when selecting new or upgraded information systems. The district information plan has these attributes:

• record and maintain basic student contact information including address, parent-guardian information, and telephone information
• track student attendance
• record and maintain student course grades, credits and completion of other graduation requirements
• calculate grade point averages and class rank
• create transcripts
• maintain discipline records
• develop class schedules, register students for classes, and create class lists
• maintain student health records
• generate reports
• generate report cards, progress reports, letters to parents and mailing labels

Level Three:        The information system is used as a communication tool to inform parents/guardians and students of real-time student work reporting. Using a secure portal, parents/guardians and students themselves can access demographic data, attendance, grades, schedules and gradebook infomation including test scores, quizzes and daily work completion information. The data in the student information system is used with telephone calling and e-mailing systems to communicate with households. The system integrates with state reporting systems and with data warehousing/data mining programs.

Why leaders need skills in using technology to use administrative student information systems:

Schools gather, store and use a lot of data. Large databases designed for just that purpose have long been an integral part of the educational landscape. And their integrity and accuracy are important since the reports of student population, daily attendance, and other data are often used to determine state and national funding formula.

Current student information systems such as NCS/Pearson’s SASIxp, Skyward, Apple PowerSchool and a variety of other commercial and home grown programs can do these tasks and administrators need to understand these functions and use them to efficiently and effectively run their buildings/departments:

• record and maintain basic student contact information including address, parent-guardian information, and telephone information
• track student attendance
• record and maintain student course grades, credits and completion of other graduation requirements
• calculate grade point averages and class rank
• create transcripts
• maintain discipline records
• develop class schedules, register students for classes, and create class lists
• maintain student health records
• generate reports
• generate report cards, progress reports, letters to parents and mailing labels
• integrate with telephone calling systems and e-mail systems
• provide parent and student portals to student data securely and accurately
  

One use that goes beyond the storage of information about students is the ability to create queries that can help administrators find data that can guide decision-making. Spotting trends in drop out rates, grade inflation, gender or racial gender biases, and truancy are possible using properly created and interpreted reports generated from the data a student information system can hold. (Rubric Four will deal specifically with this use.)

While the school secretary, guidance counselor and principal have primary access to entering, changing and reading data from these systems, access to the information in these systems is growing in three important in three other ways:

1.             Access from teacher’s desktop computer. Many Full-featured student information systems now have a module that allows teachers using networked computers in their classroom to report attendance and to enter course grades either by hand or from an integrated electronic gradebook. Access by teachers to some student data such as parental contact information, health records and discipline records can also be given. Data-privacy laws need to be fully understood and followed in such instances.

2.             Access by parents. By allowing parents access to view the information about their own children (and only their own children) that the student information system contains, schools can help parents be partners in the educational process. Parents can check the accuracy and completeness of the contact and health information, monitor their children’s grades, and check daily performance of their children in “real time.” Some systems even e-mail parents when their children have an unexcused absence, miss completing an assignment, or receive a failing test score. While some educators may be initially reluctant to participate in a project that allows parent access to student information, we have found in our district this reluctance passes and parents are universally enthusiastic about having such access.

3.             Access by other databases. Good databases share information with other databases. Compatibility of shared data is increasing because of the School Interoperability Format. Basic information about students can be imported into library automation systems, school lunch programs, and special education reporting databases. Such data sharing both decreases the clerical time needed to maintain such systems and makes the data more accurate. For more information, visit the SIF website at <www.sifinfo.org/>.

One of the oldest acronyms in the computer world is GIGO: Garbage In Garbage Out. School administrators need to understand not just how to access and use the information in school information systems, but how to write and enforce policies that maintain the integrity of the data they contain. Administrators need to understand the advantages of a district-wide centralized system and of an externally hosted and supported system where appropriate.