Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

New Report on Student "Permanent Records" Separates Perception from Reality

  • 10/09/14

Transparency, Governance, Capacity Building, and Improved Policies are Key Elements for Building Trust in the Data Needed to Help Students Succeed

Washington, D.C. — The linking of student data across agencies and over time—also known as “student records”—can be leveraged in powerful ways to improve student success, but lack of clear information about these practices has led to growing privacy concerns.

A new report seeks to clear up the confusion by putting to bed many misconceptions about student “permanent records.” The key takeaway: public educational institutions and agencies have not created a single, lasting repository where individual students’ educational histories could be accessed at a keystroke.

“The goal of effective education data use is to improve student success, but we can’t reach this goal without assurance that students and their data are safe. Policymakers need to take responsibility and action by building an environment of trust and a culture of ethical data use,” said Aimee Rogstad Guidera, founder and executive director of the Data Quality Campaign.

A new policy brief by the Data Quality Campaign and its partners provides recommendations for policymakers, including the following:

  • Establish governance by clarifying who is responsible for managing data across agencies and over time.
  • Identify where state policy can supplement federal law. For example, establish, implement, and monitor data destruction policies and create consequences for violating such policies.
  • Create robust requirements, model language, and transparency for third-party service provider contracts.
  • Help parents understand how linking student data over time improves their child’s college and career readiness.

Here are some key facts about the collection and sharing of student-level information:

  • Employers and the media cannot, by law, access an individual student record.
  • States collect from districts a small subset of student-level information to evaluate and improve student learning.
  • The US Department of Education is prohibited by law from creating a federal database with students’ personally identifiable information.

States have policies regarding how long data can be stored and when it must be destroyed.

Featured

  • Chicago District Completes Construction on New Elementary School

    North Chicago School District 187 in North Chicago, Ill., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Forrestal Elementary School, according to a news release. The new school marks a major investment in military-connected students and families at Naval Station Great Lakes.

  • Arizona District Breaks Ground on Community Training, Learning Center

    The Tolleson Union High School District (TUHSD) in Tolleson, Ariz., recently broke ground on a new Training & Learning Center (TLC) for both district professionals and the community at large, according to a news release. The 90,000-square-foot facility has an estimated completion date of spring 2027.

  • abstract illustration of school gym

    How the Gymnasium Can Serve as a Model for Learning Space Design

    Multipurpose gyms work because flexibility was built into the brief from the start, not retrofitted later. The same logic applies to academic spaces.

  • College of the Desert Hits Construction Milestone on New Campus

    College of the Desert recently announced that the construction of its new Palm Springs Campus in Palm Springs, Calif., recently reached a major construction milestone, according to a news release. The college is partnering with general contractor C.W. Driver Companies, which recently “topped out” the facility by placing the final beam in its structure.