Future Ready Learning

Education data systems do not always maximize the use of interoperability standards that would
enable easy and secure sharing of information with educators, schools, districts, states, students,
and their families. As a result, educators are missing out on significant opportunities to use
data to improve and personalize learning. With improved educational data systems, leaders can
leverage aggregate data to improve the quality and effectiveness of technology-enabled learning
tools and resources.
For example, it is now possible to gather data during formative and summative assessments
that can be used to create personalized digital learning experiences. In addition, teachers can
use these data to inform interventions and decisions about how to engage individual students;
personalize learning; and create more engaging, relevant, and accessible learning experiences for
all learners.
Assessment data can be made available directly to students. When they have access to their
data, students can play a larger role in choosing their own learning pathways. 8 The data also
can be made available to family members so students’ advocates can play a more active role
in supporting their children’s education. Moreover, data can be used to support teachers’
efforts—individually or in teams, departments, or schools—to improve professional practice
and learning. 9 For personalized learning systems to reach their full potential, data systems and
learning platforms should include seamless interoperability with a focus on data security and
issues related to privacy.
In many cases, pre-service teaching candidates do not receive sufficient instruction on understanding
and using data. At the same time, in-service teachers can benefit from ongoing professional
development on the integration of technology to enhance their teaching. According to the
Data Quality Campaign, as of February 2014, just 19 states included the demonstration of data
literacy skills as a requirement for teacher licensure. 10 Although data from technology-based
assessments and data systems hold great potential, they are meaningful only when educators use
them effectively. Teachers deserve ongoing support to strengthen their skills in how to use data
to meet the needs of students better.
Addressing these challenges will take a three-pronged approach: (1) preparing and supporting
educators in realizing the full potential of using assessment data, (2) encouraging the development
of data assessment tools that are more intuitive and include visualizations that clearly
indicate what the data mean for instruction, and (3) ensuring the security and privacy of student
data within these systems.
For a more complete discussion of student data safety and privacy, see Section 5: Infrastructure.
How Technology Transforms Assessment
Technology can help us imagine and redefine assessment in a variety of ways. These tools
can provide unobtrusive measurements for learners who are designing and building products,
conducting experiments using mobile devices, and manipulating parameters in simulations.
Problems can be situated in real-world environments, where students perform tasks, or include
multi-stage scenarios that simulate authentic, progressive engagement with the subject matter.
Teachers can access information on student progress and learning throughout the school day,
which allows them to adapt instruction to personalize learning or intervene to address particular
learning shortfalls. The unique attributes of technology-based assessments that enable these
activities include the following.
OFFICE OF Educational Technology
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