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Self-Assessment Tool Helps Determine Progress in Becoming a Data-Rich District The Consortium for School Networking Launches Data-driven Decision Making Assessment Tool
Press Release - For Immediate Release Irene Spero, Vice President
January 14, 2004, Washington D.C. – The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), a national nonprofit organization that promotes the use of information technologies and the Internet in K-12 education, today launched a web-enabled tool that allows educators to self-assess their readiness to utilize the data-driven decision making process for accountability and continuous school improvement. The data tool was developed as part of CoSN’s multi-year Data-driven Decision Making: Vision to Know and Do initiative, a cross-industry effort to assist educators in the effective use of data. Irene K. Spero, CoSN Vice President and Vision to Know and Do project director, noted that this tool is an important way for districts to learn about the steps necessary to more completely utilize data in the decision making process. The survey takes only a few minutes to complete with district respondents receiving a quick calculation of the results. “What better way than this to continue the process of using data effectively and determining where you are in the process of becoming a data rich district,” Spero added. The simple 10-question assessment is available at 3d2know.cosn.org/assessment/survey.cfm. It includes questions dealing with the ability of a district to extract data, create an inventory of data elements, determine the accuracy of data, identify intervention strategies based on data, and provide technical support. CoSN launched the Data-driven Decision Making initiative in February 2003 as a response to the challenges teachers and administrators at the school, district and state level face in understanding how to use data appropriately as a tool to accelerate student learning. Data-driven Decision Making is made possible through the generous support of Educational Testing Service (www.ets.org), IBM (www.ibm.com; NYSE: IBM), SAS (www.sas.com and www.sasinschool.com), Plato Learning (www.plato.com), and Texas Instruments (education.ti.com). Scholastic Administrator (www.scholasticadministrator.com) is the media partner for the initiative. Further information about the Data-driven Decision Making initiative is available at the project’s website, www.3D2Know.org. About the Data-driven Decision Making Initiative The Data-driven Decision Making initiative is a highly-respected source of up-to-date, unbiased information for educators on collecting, understanding and using data effectively; an easy-to-use mechanism for educating school leaders about data-driven decision making and its applications in elementary and secondary education; and a nationally recognized framework for sharing knowledge among educators and transferring knowledge between the educational and vendor communities. The initiative’s first deliverable was the background paper, “Vision to Know and Do: The Power of Data as a Tool for Educational Decision Making.” The paper focuses on the successful practice of school districts and school district consortia that have transformed their organizations to respond to the needs of all students and provide community accountability. The paper suggests that districts address change management first and develop data management systems through this process. In addition, it offers lessons from the field with respect to factors for success such as the scale and scope of implementation, data needs and quality, reporting, costs of adoption, professional development needs and establishing partnerships. Available for purchase at www.cosn.org/store/, the 28-page paper:
Future Data-driven Decision Making initiative deliverables include:
About the Consortium for School Networking Founded in 1992, the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), a national non-profit organization, is the premier voice in education technology leadership. Its mission is to advance the K-12 education community’s capacity to effectively use technology to improve learning through advocacy, policy and leadership development. CoSN members represent school districts, state and local education agencies, nonprofits, companies and individuals who share this vision. CoSN leadership initiatives include: Cyber Security for the Digital District (www.securedistrict.org); Data-Driven Decision Making (www.3d2know.org); Safeguarding the Wired Schoolhouse (www.safewiredschools.org); Taking Total Cost of Ownership to the Classroom (www.classroomtco.org); and the development of the Council of School District Chief Technology Officers (CTO) (www.cosn.org/initiatives/cto/cto_proposal.html). In addition, CoSN sponsors an annual conference at which school technology leaders, national policy makers, researchers, and practitioners explore how technology can be leveraged to improve student achievement. CoSN’s 9th Annual School Networking Conference will be held March 2-3, 2004, in Arlington, Va. Visit www.k12schoolnetworking.org for more program and registration information. Visit www.cosn.org or call 202/861-2676 to find out more about CoSN’s programs and activities that support leadership development to ensure that information technology has a direct and positive impact on student learning in elementary and secondary schools. Editor's Note: To receive a copy of the “Vision to Know and Do: The Power of Data as a Tool in Educational Decision Making” paper, contact Charlene Blohm at charlene@cblohm.com or 210/656-2324.
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