The Educational Testing Service and the State Educational Technology Directors Association have released a toolkit to help local and state officials implement data-management systems.
The toolkit, Using Data for School Reform, gives policy recommendations for financing statewide data-management systems, and contains research by the Princeton, N.J.-based ETS, a nonprofit education measurement and research organization, on the need for statewide data systems.
In addition, the Web-based toolkit shares case studies on data systems in five states, and offers templates for letters, press releases, and other documents directed at teachers, parents, and others that make the case for such systems. The benefits cited include cost savings, customized instruction, and consistent reporting methods.
“The No Child Left Behind legislation has caused schools, districts, and states to collect more data than ever before, but are we using that data to its full potential?” said Peter Robertson, the executive director of the ETS elementary and secondary education division, in a statement.
“With these resources, SETDA members are provided with leadership tools to support teaching and learning,” he said.
The toolkit, available for free at www.setda.org, is an outgrowth of a leadership summit in October 2005 sponsored by the technology directors’ association. In that three-day conference, the Glen Burnie, Md.-based organization helped education groups, technology companies, the U.S. Department of Education, and state-level educators work together to produce the material for the toolkit.
