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Better Data Seen as Vital to Improving Nation's Schools

'Virtual Backpacks' with Details on Each Student Part of Futuristic Vision

Washington

Imagine the research possibilities if every student in the country carried a “virtual backpack” stuffed with statistics on his or her entire educational history.

The data, traveling with students as they moved from school to school, could be used to update parents on their children’s learning progress, register students in school, or import information when they moved to a new city or entered college.

Educators and researchers could plumb the backpacks for data to figure out how to target instruction more effectively or to determine which educational interventions...