Key points:
We continue to read headlines about how artificial intelligence (AI) can substantially increase labor productivity across the global economy, creating both time and informational efficiencies. Yet there seems to be an argument about where and how this can revolutionize the world of education. As districts become increasingly more data driven, we need to accept that AI is here to stay and leverage information management solutions to drive student outcomes.
Tracking and managing data plays a critical role in the success of our students, so now more than ever, there is a fundamental need for districts to implement a modern solution partner to do that heavy lifting. Manually building spreadsheets, pulling out pivot tables, and building formulas and dashboards from scratch can waste our valuable time and resources. What might take days, or even weeks, for an administrator to input can be done in seconds by the right software. Intelligent educational software instantly recognizes patterns in data, even when they are not immediately apparent. This can be crucial for identifying trends, correlations, or factors influencing student performance that might be overlooked by manual analysis.
Ultimately, data management software allows us to shift our focus to having the right conversations, providing personalized learning experiences, delivering targeted support, and making impactful decisions to promote student success.
Here are three ways a modern data solution can improve student outcomes in your district:
Create collaboration among stakeholders
A solution that centralizes, consolidates, and synthesizes data can drive conversation among school counselors, psychologists, administrators, intervention specialists, classroom teachers, and anyone else invested in students’ success. It allows the team to support the whole child by seeing students’ data through a variety of different lenses, ultimately enabling classroom teachers to make informed decisions and improve the overall learning experience for their students—and this can be initially accomplished through the use of just a few key dashboards.
As our district sees the effects of these initial dashboards come to life, we know that our students are more likely to succeed if families are engaged in their learning. A dashboard that tells the story of the whole child allows teachers to share data-driven insights with students and families, providing a clear picture of academic progress. Seeing a report card once a semester isn’t enough for families to understand how their kids are doing, and a modern data solution allows families to see trends over time in academics, mental health, attendance, and more. This provides families with clear, easy-to-understand visualizations of their child’s performance and challenges, enabling collaborative efforts to support student learning both inside and outside the classroom.
Identify patterns for at-risk students to provide real-time support
No student can be evaluated for at-risk behavior by test scores alone. By tracking attendance, behavioral patterns, mental health, grades, and other key markers, educators can pinpoint students who may be struggling and intervene before issues escalate.
The software provides data in real-time—which is crucial for identifying students at risk of academic challenges or dropping out. Data analysis software also creates algorithms and allows for the identification of patterns and trends in student performance. This proactive approach of using consistent dashboards each week allows us to quickly see which students are in the at-risk category, and drive immediate conversations about those specific students.
Create individualized support and pathways
A modern data solution can create personalized student experiences by tailoring educational content, support, and interactions to meet individual needs and preferences. The software can do a deep dive into each student’s history and instantaneously outline what’s needed to reach personal goals in academics, career readiness, and social-emotional skill building. We can clearly see enabling students to define and track their progress toward goals and plans in our roadmap, as we continue to empower students to take an active role in managing their own future.
We can also explore using a modern data solution to help students easily connect with community partners, courses, or other resources. This includes students accessing opportunities like: job shadowing, career mentorship, informational interviews, internships, and practicums. As schools are finding value by weaving in a variety of student-centered experiences with real-life and relevant learning activities into their curriculum, students can use the software to log hours and keep them on track.
Data management platforms have the potential to revolutionize education in many ways, transforming the traditional model of teaching and learning. By leveraging algorithms and analytics, a modern data solution can analyze data in real-time, providing educators with immediate insights to make informed, timely decisions that positively impact student success. Ultimately, it frees educators to get back to doing what they do best—challenging and supporting every student, every step of the way.
