Pilot program tracks classroom performance

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The McCook School District is taking part in a pilot program that monitors student classroom performance more specifically for instructors and administration.

Provided by the Nebraska Department of Education as the result of a statewide "Longitudinal Data System" grant the NDE received, the McCook school district is 1 of 12 districts in the state that is participating in the pilot program, McCook Schools Superintendent Grant Norgaard told the McCook School Board Monday night at its regular meeting.

Called the Dashboard program, it allows data from local and state systems to be combined and presented in a way to help teachers and administrators use their data to improve student performance and pinpoint more quickly when academic troubles surface.

The program includes information from local assessment scores, classroom attendance, grade level and district data.

The district already uses "Infinite Campus," that can be assessed by students and parents, but the Dashboard program is more specific to each student, Norgaard said.

The information will be collected year by year and be used to determine student needs as well as needs of buildings in the district, Norgaard said. He estimated that the program could be up and running by the end of the school year.

The types and amount of information to be collected is yet to be determined, he said. Those helping set up the program are Kate Repass, Central Elementary principal, Joel Bednar, MPS information technologist and Kim Korgan from the high school guidance counselor office.

Board member Larry Shields asked how long the information would be stored and Norgaard replied that he assumed it "would be there forever" unless it is destroyed. The state is already monitoring student data, Norgaard continued, such as student demographics, and if they have taken the state tests.

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