Schools have long dealt with data, tracking students' personal information, grades, courses, attendance and the like. But for the most part, these records have been scattered across filing systems -- electronic and otherwise. Although most states have implemented some sort of system by which to collect and monitor students' data, these often remain disconnected. Many databases are not online, and when they are, data often isn't transmissible because of different databases and file systems.
Efforts are underway to help standardize student data, and this week, two new developments occurred in this vein.
As EdWeek's Sarah Sparks reports, the Common Education Data Standards Initiative released the first draft of the second stage of its core data definitions.
The initiative has been working on these standards for almost a year now, trying to devise standards so that a student's school-related information can move with him. As it stands, even within districts, it's been difficult to transfer students' data throughout their academic career. This new development makes it easier to track the data, whether it's a matter of moving from grade school through high school or from high school to college, or moving from one school to another, in the same or different city or district.