When managed correctly, educational data can provide educators and administrators with tools to effectively personalize learning plans, manage academic interventions, support students’ wellness, and drive educational equity.
Many districts are rethinking their approach to data management, as remote learning during the height of the pandemic opened the floodgates for digital tools. A report of the 2021-22 school year found that educators used an average of 148 different ed tech products, and districts accessed an average of 1,417 different digital tools each month.
Schools are generating more data than ever, but when they silo data across several different platforms, it can be overwhelming to track and counterproductive. Decentralized data makes it difficult for administrators, counselors, parents, and teachers to gain insight into patterns regarding students in need of support, and this can be of significant consequence, especially for historically and systematically marginalized students.
Leveraging various data points to create a more comprehensive picture can help leaders address inequities and develop actionable plans. Moreover, when schools make these insights readily available to all stakeholders — students, parents, teachers, and counselors — it ensures that the whole child receives proper support when and where they need it most.
Using Data to Close the Equity Gap
Consolidating and managing data from one central location allows educators to easily connect the dots to see district-wide trends. They can zoom in to ensure every student, regardless of ability, has the tools they need to succeed. Here are two examples of school districts leveraging their data to close equity gaps.
Loveland, Ohio
When schools silo data, it can be easy for students to fall through the cracks. Individual Education Plans (IEP) and 504s can be mismanaged, gifted and at-risk students might fly under the radar, and well-meaning staff may unknowingly overlook student wellness or other issues impacting a student’s academics.
The Loveland City School District recently integrated its 504s, IEP, and gifted plan software with Abre’s data management solution that syncs and hosts education plans every night. Housing this data in a centralized location makes it turnkey for parents and teachers to easily access the most recent versions of the student’s plan and ensure students of all abilities receive the proper interventions and support.
Durango, Colorado
Durango School District 9-R is in a geographically rural and demographically diverse area. While some students live adjacent to an abundance of activities and opportunities for extracurricular activities, many live far from a town center.
A key goal in the Durango school district’s new strategic plan is for all students to be involved in an extracurricular activity and have access to after-school programming. Providing students with various experiences inside and outside of school helps them understand their interests and strengths, ultimately leading them to their life’s purpose. For Durango, these opportunities extend beyond sports and recreation to career awareness and exploration work.
Students may not know what programs best match their talents and passions, so the district relies heavily on syncing and storing data from multiple sources: student information systems, state assessments, and diagnostic and supplemental tools to gather data to help pair them with meaningful opportunities, as well as track student engagement.
Getting Started
Begin by involving key stakeholders to evaluate your district’s portfolio of digital tools and find which work well together to create a comprehensive picture with equitable insights.
Additionally, districts should provide plenty of professional development opportunities for educators and administrators to become data literate. Translating data points into useful information and subsequently into an action plan is challenging. The difficulty level of this process has led to an increase in teacher in-service professional development to support data use, focusing on developing teachers' and school leaders' data use knowledge, skills, and attitudes.
Finally, investing in a data management platform that connects insights from various sources can save time and money while uncovering key insights, leading to efficiencies and equity.
Integrating and synthesizing multiple data points to tell the whole child's story can inform decision-making that fosters an equitable educational experience. By understanding how data can promote equity, schools can ensure essential information becomes an integrated part of district planning and culture, setting districts up for success and guiding them to the right solutions for the best student outcomes.
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