Driving Out of Town Without Directions

Emergency shut downs have made most of us in education feel like we are driving a car on unknown roads without directions. What would we do without a GPS app?

The key to navigating roadblocks and unexpected detours is real-time data analysis that informs decision-making models. When we work backwards to solve this problem, we start with the source data.

What makes data management systems so powerful then is just that—giving the end-user information that inspires action and informs progress, or lack thereof.

For the vast majority of school districts, student information systems (SIS) warehouse all student attendance data. Student information systems don’t intuitively tell users what the problems are or where to begin solving them. That doesn't diminish SIS’s, rather, it helps understand that they weren’t designed with problem-solving analytics and metrics in mind. They are warehouses or repositories to park data, the opposite of true data management systems.

By design, attendance management systems analyze data across organizations. Effective data management is crucial in telling end-users what the problems are and give insight on solving them.

Missing school is a key indicator that students are off-track. To improve student attendance and ultimately, student achievement, districts must be able to access easy-to-understand comparative analysis that measures outcomes against internal and external norms. A SIS, by design, is closed system data and cannot provide comparative reporting, goal setting, and benchmarking from outside sources.

What makes data management systems so powerful then is just that—giving the end-user information that inspires action and informs progress, or lack thereof. Robust attendance management systems are a roadmap—that must-have GPS app—that guides users in navigating the road to improvement.

Below, check out a comparative data sample. Download it here.