9486 in the collection
States mismanage student information, study concludes
Ohanian Comment: Eons ago, in the pre-data warehousing days, each teacher wrote a comment on a student's permanent record card every year. As an 8th grade teacher, I could glance at a card and see an accumulation of individual opinions as well as standardized test scores. Some of it wasn't pretty. Then New York State passed a law declaring these permanent record cards available to a "freedom of information"-type query from parents. The thought of the parents of some of our most trouble some students looking at these cards scared more than a few people.
The guidance counselor solved the problem: He burned the cards.
Teachers shrugged their shoulders. Nobody thought any valuable information had been lost. I was glad some really really remarks about kids were gone forever--and that my colleagues would be forced to curb their remarks in the future.
Data warehousing? Whose kidding whom? The dangers of sensitive information getting into the wrong hands far outweighs any possible usefulness of that information. When are teachers going to point out that the emperor has no clothes? Anyone who looks at standardized test questions knows that the data derived from the answers is probably worse than useless? Worse because it makes such definitive-sounding pronouncement based on erroneous inquiry.
By Nick Anderson
States often collect far more information about students than necessary and fail to take adequate steps to protect their privacy, a national study concludes. The dossiers go far beyond test scores, including Social Security numbers, poverty data, health information and disciplinary incidents.
The study from the Fordham University Center on Law and Information Policy, released Wednesday, casts light on data systems created at the urging of the federal government to track student progress. One finding: States often fail to spell out protocols for purging records after students graduate.
"Ten, 15 years later, these kids are adults, and information from their elementary, middle and high school years will easily be exposed by hackers and others who put it to misuse," said Fordham law professor Joel R. Reidenberg, who oversaw the study. States, he said, "are trampling the privacy interests of those students."
The movement toward statewide databases with unique student identifiers, rooted in the standards-and-testing movement of the 1990s, has grown significantly in this decade under the federal No Child Left Behind law and is getting a fresh push this year from the Obama administration. Federal officials want to link student test scores to teacher files to help evaluate instruction. They also envision systems that track students from pre-kindergarten through college, to help raise college completion rates.
Nearly all states, including Virginia and Maryland, have built or are planning virtual education "data warehouses," aided by federal funding. A similar effort is underway in the District, although contractor troubles have caused delays. Advocates say the warehouses have strong privacy protections, but they acknowledge potential shortcomings.
"Is there data collected that's not necessary anymore?" asked Aimee Guidera, executive director of the Data Quality Campaign, based in the District, which is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, among others. "Probably." She cited Kansas and Tennessee as leaders in establishing rules for data control.
But a larger concern, Guidera said, is that states often lack "a strategic, thoughtful way of connecting information and using it to answer questions."
The Fordham study canvassed public information on state data systems and compliance with federal privacy law. It omitted the District, and researchers said they were unable to obtain information from Maryland.
Among the findings: At least 23 states note reasons for withdrawal from school such as jail, illness or mental health issues. At least 22 count student absences. At least 29 track whether students are homeless. Those three tallies include Virginia.
The study also found that at least 16 states use or allow the use of Social Security numbers to identify students and at least 10 note whether a student is a single parent. Virginia was not among the 16 or the 10. Another finding: Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey and North Carolina track the date of a student's last medical exam.
The study recommended that states tighten protocols to keep data anonymous, with special provisions for those in local schools who need to know more; that they articulate reasons for collecting data and jettison what is unjustified; and that they appoint officers to oversee compliance with state and federal privacy laws.
Charles Pyle, a Virginia Department of Education spokesman, said data are protected through policies and programming that prevent unauthorized access. The data help the state comply with No Child Left Behind, he said, and help pinpoint student needs.
"You need a statewide system to keep track of the kids," said Grover "Russ" Whitehurst of the Brookings Institution, who oversaw education research for President George W. Bush's administration. "Otherwise, they fall off the screen."
— Nick Anderson
Washington Post
2009-10-28
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/27/AR2009102703562_pf.html
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
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