Education Week - Managing the Digital District - October 2, 2013 - S21

Often the problem is not that the information has not been collected,
he said. “These questions are answerable questions, but nobody
is asking them, and nobody has organized the data to answer
them,” Mr. Kane said.
In the 95,000-student Fulton County, Ga., district, which worked
with the Strategic Data Project several years ago, the information
uncovered by data analysis showed that although many of the district’s
students at the end of senior year said they planned to go to
college, not as many as expected actually enrolled after the summer,
said Christopher Matthews, the district’s executive director of counseling,
psychological, and social work services.
District officials found that if they hired additional counselors—
and called, emailed, and texted students with support and reminders
about preparing for college over the summer—more students
actually went to college that first year. After looking at the data
collected about that effort, the district refined its efforts, targeting
low-income students, because data showed the program had the
greatest impact with that group, Mr. Matthews said.
“This showcased the power of what can happen when you have really
good data and you’re partnering with decisionmakers,” he said.
RAMPING UP WITH DATA
The data system for the Fairfax County, Va., school district
has evolved over the last decade. Now, the 184,000-student
system uses an Electronic Curriculum Assessment Resource
Tool, better known as eCART.
l The beginning: eCART began as
a simple learning management
system run by an external vendor.
In its next version, eCART became a
district-built system that focused
on assessment and curriculum with
minimal data analysis.
l eCART now: The system houses
assessments, lessons, documents,
and other learning resources
available to teachers. It analyzes
student data at the student, class,
school, and school-cluster levels.
The data can also be analyzed
longitudinally. Teachers can
collaborate on assessments and
other documents.
l What’s new: This school year, the
district launched a user-friendly
search engine that mimics a
shopping experience on Amazon.
It uses filters for more targeted
results, and teachers can post
reviews of different resources.
l In the future: Teachers will soon be
able to add their own finds to the
mix of learning resources available
on eCART. The district is working
on a data portal to allow parents
to access the system and see data
analysis about their children. The
district hopes to ultimately have the
eCART system interact with other
district data-collection points, such
as attendance or student goals, and
find a way for it to factor in such
learning opportunities as digital
portfolios or other types of openended
evaluations.
SOURCE: Fairfax County Public Schools
Managing the Digital District >>www.edweek.org/go/digitaldistrict-report
S21
EDUCATION WEEK | October 2, 2013
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researchers to gather information on key performance indicators.
Every department—from transportation and purchasing to curriculum—will
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district will try to link, for example, how late buses or a delay in
technology purchasing might have fallout for achievement.
“We can begin to data-mine for relations we didn’t even think
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Education Week - Managing the Digital District - October 2, 2013

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