February 2006 — Features

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ISKME Special Series Part I >> Data Driven

by Joseph C. Panettieri

AT A GLANCE: ISKME

Organization:School District of Philadelphia
Organization: The Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education
Mission: An independent, nonprofit educational think tank that conducts research, develops resources, and facilitates community building with the goal of helping educational institutions and systems increase capacity to collect and share information, apply it to well-defined problems, and support inquiry and continuous improvement directed toward student success and organizational learning.
Headquarters: Half Moon Bay, CA

“The district has always used data,” says Fran Newberg, an IMS project manager for the Philadelphia district. “In the past, however, the district relied on hard copies of standardized test data and yearly summaries that were prepared by district administrators.”

ISKME Special Series continues

March:Data Use and School Reform
April: Using Data to Improve Instruction
May:Indicators & Outcomes in School Districts
Read each article of the series online as it is posted at www.thejournal.com.

As a result, information was frequently antiquated or lacked historical trending information. In stark contrast, IMS puts all relevant student data at the fingertips of teachers and principals, Newberg says, making data-driven instructional decisions easier to make.

Who else is leveraging data-driven decision making? Next month, we will explore specific districts that are using data to direct school reform.

Joseph C. Panettieri has covered Cisco, the networking industry, and Silicon Valley since 1992.

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Joseph C. Panettieri, "ISKME Special Series Part I >> Data Driven," T.H.E. Journal, 2/1/2006, http://www.thejournal.com/articles/17864

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