Obama Administration Pushes for Student Record Databases
The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that the Obama Administration is forging ahead in its effort to develop a detailed national database that tracks students from preschool through employment. This month a panel of 20-30 experts will convene at the behest of the Department of Education and attempt to develop specific recommendations. The movement toward student databases for purposes of accountability has received support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in recent years, which issued a $2.9 million grant to the National Student Clearinghouse to “develop the first national secondary education research and reporting system that will provide participating high schools across all 50 states with reliable information on their graduates' college access and success rates.” The challenge will be developing a plan which balances the government’s interest in tracking student progress and evaluating the impact of education legislation against concerns of individual privacy. Further analysis on this issue may be found on the Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed websites.
