As Iowa school improvement teams know well, the Comprehensive School Improvement Plans in the future must be able to answer the following question: How will we evaluate our programs and services to ensure improved student learning? For the tech savvy school administrator planning to "infomate" the school environment, another question emerges: Are we collecting sufficient data to allow us to make judgments and predictions about how well our programs and services are meeting the needs of all students over time? This is a challenging question. The following chart provides a framework for considering the design of a district data warehouse aligned with the demands of school improvement.
If you would like additional consultation regarding data, contact the Iowa Data Academy. It is a group of Iowa technology and information specialists who have organized a best practices think tank to improve local district's data use.
