October 2002 — Industry Perspective
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New E-Technologies Simplify NCLB Requirements
The impact of the No Child Left Behind Act, characterized as the largest overhaul of the federal role in education, will affect states and public schools for years. Schools must now plan to comply with the complexities of the new system for accountability. However, many states and school districts are unsure of the steps they need to take to begin the process of creating guidelines for school improvement.
Accountability has always been an issue for our children's education, but never before has it been as high of a priority as it is now. The NCLB Act holds states, districts and local schools accountable for educational performance so that all children have the chance to learn and succeed. As a result, there is a greater need now than ever before for effective assessment and improvement strategies. Many superintendents and state officials are seeking additional information about what this umbrella legislation means for both their students and employees.
The new law requires states and school districts to implement systems and set time lines to close achievement gaps. The NCLB Act provides substantial remedies for children in failing schools and targets high-poverty schools, offering them additional resources for improvement. States, districts and schools report that the complexities of the NCLB Act require extensive data management and strategic planning efforts.
To initiate this comprehensive program, improvement teams need to analyze data systematically to understand the state of their current system and to make prudent decisions that will improve student learning. Innovative research-based programs, staff development, focused and aligned resources, and public participation in planning are critical factors in improving schools. It is imperative that coordinated data and information systems are available to meet the needs of decision makers at all levels of the education system.
State education departments have long sought systems that most effectively and efficiently provide data storage and analysis components. A complex system design that uses the latest cutting-edge industry technologies, and is easy to operate, is needed to bring information together for analysis and improvement purposes. The roadblocks to providing an effective information systems environment have included a lack of communication between data systems and a lack of proximity as to where data systems are managed. Information is often stored at the school, district and state levels, and is frequently housed in multiple formats. Consequently, stakeholders have not had access to critical data and information necessary in making decisions on how to plan for improvement.
Despite these data management challenges, public schools must find a way to improve student performance and report results. Some states are looking toward complex data warehousing solutions to manage information. However, there are alternatives that can ease this process and provide substantial savings. Data management is simplified by using sophisticated integration methodologies and new e-technologies that use XML. Solution providers are able to take the information set that the end user needs, while making use of the systems already in place to provide the data necessary in making research-driven decisions.
