6 tips for effectively curating student data

Data silos are hardly a new challenge for K-12 school districts. Even before the mass digitization that occurred as a result of the pandemic, leaders and stakeholders were struggling with data that was both fragmented and overwhelming in its quantity. The proliferation of e-learning has only exacerbated this problem. 

Yet the potential returns for districts capable of overcoming this roadblock are enormous. Armed with accurate, actionable insights into each student’s challenges, preferences, and learning style, teachers can effortlessly create personalized lesson plans. As a result, they can ensure that each student receives the education they deserve, leading to better outcomes across the board. 

On a macro level, better data enables more efficient teaching and spending. On the administrative side, student data can also help direct technology investments and identify bottlenecks. Finally, it can help ensure each teacher is placed in the role that they’re best suited to fulfill.

To unlock these insights, you’ll need to be able to curate and govern your student data effectively — we’ll guide you through that process. 

Start With Your Culture

As with any organizational shift, the first and most important step is an open and honest discussion. Next, you need to ensure everyone is aligned in how and why student data will be leveraged and analyzed. 

Find a Suitable Student Information System (SIS)

If you’re only now discussing the curation of student data, then there’s a good chance your existing SIS doesn’t offer the necessary support or features. As a result, you will likely need to upgrade. To that end, there are a few questions you should ask: 

• What do you need it to do? 
• Where do you need to host it? 
• Is it flexible enough for your needs? 
• Is it intuitive? 
• How easily will it integrate with your existing tools?
• What support does the vendor provide? 
• How positive are the SIS platform’s reviews? 
• Lastly and most importantly, how does it manage, organize, and display data? 

Ensure Interoperability

You already know there is a great deal of fragmentation and duplication where student data is concerned. 

Ensuring the systems and tools used by each department in a school and each segment of your district are fully interoperable is a crucial next step. 

This will allow you to consolidate your data in a single location while also making it more accessible to teachers, administrators, and other stakeholders. 

Consider Who Needs Access 

With your data consolidated, the next question you need to ask is who needs to access that data. It’s not just teachers that can benefit from seeing the insights contained within your SIS. Parents, too, have a great deal to gain.

It’s imperative that everyone provided with access understands the data, why it was collected, and its insights.

Prioritize Security

Your school district has a duty of care towards its students. It is your responsibility to keep them safe and their data secure. For that reason, you’ll need to ensure you have systems for the secure transfer and storage of data in place — perhaps with a means of guaranteeing files are kept secure as they’re shared.

Focus on Collaboration

As with any major technological shift, consolidation and curation of student data is not the responsibility of anyone department. Instead, it should be a multi-stakeholder project, with input from each department. You need to ensure that everyone’s needs are being met from the perspective of both data access and functionality.

In today’s climate, data is everything – not just in school districts but in every facet of our lives. Effective curation of student data is imperative — and the potential returns are well worth the effort.

Collect, Analyze, and Curate Student Data With Edsembli

Student data is quickly becoming the most powerful asset a school district has. The challenge is putting the right solutions in place to collect, analyze, and curate that data.

With Edsembli’s all-in-one education software, school districts can seamlessly integrate human resources and payroll, finance, and student data into one centralized and connected system.

Are you looking for an easier way to manage the student experience? Do you want to drive deep insights out of the student data you collect? Connect with an Edsembli SIS specialist today to learn more.

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