May 31, 2007 -- A new $80 million database will allow school administrators to track the progress of students and teachers throughout the year in amazingly minute detail, Department of Education officials announced yesterday.
Set to go online this fall, the system will catalog every single assessment test question each student answers. Teachers can then analyze the data on a specific student or classroom basis to zero in on problem areas.
"They'll make it easier for our educators to tailor instruction to the individual needs of every student," said Schools Chancellor Joel Klein. "This takes assessment tests to an entirely new level."
In a sense, it is like the Police Department's CompStat crime analysis tool for the classroom.
And the data makes it easier for administrators to keep an eye on how teachers are performing, Klein said. For instance, if a disproportionate number of students get the same question wrong, that could be an indicator that a teacher needs coaching.
Students and parents will also be given special accounts to go online and access individual results.
All test results - whether taken on paper or on computer - will be online within five days. The system was designed by McGraw-Hill Companies and Scantron. It will eventually be incorporated into an even larger, $80 million database being developed by IBM that tracks results on all standardized tests.
Teachers can create their own periodic assessment tests but can still track them on the database. They can also choose from a menu of ready-to-go assessment tests. Previous tests were "one size fits all," Klein said.
Since 2003, students in grades 3 to 8 have been required to take five "no-stakes" assessment tests a year. High school students take four of them. These tests have no impact on grades or promotion but are used as a snapshot of student and class progress.
"We've been struggling for years and years with paper and pencil to get this kind of assessment," said Irene Rogan, a superintendent overseeing schools in The Bronx.
Initially, the assessment tests will be in reading and math. Over the next four years, science and social studies tests will also be cataloged in the database.
cbennett@nypost.com
