Privacy Concerns Grow Over Increased Use of Student Data

More schools are accessing and using student data to improve student achievement, a new report shows, prompting some questions and concerns about privacy and security. According to the report by the Data Quality Campaign, schools in 35 states now are using secure state websites or portals to store and access information, compared with only 28 states in 2011. The growing practice has raised concerns in some states over plans to store data on a cloud-based system -- accessible over the Internet -- despite assurances from the system provider that the data are secure. Several states that had signed up to work with inBloom, an Atlanta-based nonprofit that collects and stores student data for school districts, have since backed off over security concerns. In New York, parents recently filed suit to stop the state education department from working with inBloom. Do you know how your children’s data is stored and accessed in your district?