What We Talk About When We Talk About Data
4 min read
One of my goals in writing a book looking at how education policy and privacy decisions evolved over the last three years is to examine and clarify the different potential meanings of data within education.
When we talk about data, we often skip the specifics. When it comes to discussing issues and concerns related to data collection and privacy, a lack of specificity at the outset leads to confusion and miscommunication as the conversations progress. Within education, "data" means many things.
This Might Be What We Talk About
When we talk about data, are we talking about the data that is required for school report cards, as required by federal law? Are we talking about data that supports federal accountability reporting? And of that data, how much - and what information, exactly - is stored in state-level longitudinal databases? How does this compare to school-level student information systems, and district-level portals?
Outside of the data required by law for accountability, there are other commonly used practices and applications in schools that result in both students and teachers creating data trails. Many of these services are sold to schools by vendors, and the data generated by their use can be stored in indeterminate locations, accessible by indeterminate partners and affiliates. A short, incomplete list includes:
- Vendors that support school services, like cafeteria and bus routes;
- Vendors that provide productivity software - everything from Google Apps, Microsoft 365, Adobe, and other general use software;
- Vendors that maintain hardware at the school, district, state, and federal level;
- Vendors selling mobile devices, like iPads, Android-based devices, Chromebooks, tablets, etc;
- Apps used on mobile devices (generally bought from marketplaces like Apple's App store, Google Play, etc);
- Vendors that sell curriculum or other resources, like Discovery Education, Pearson, McGraw Hill, Macmillan, etc;
- Middleware or data warehouse providers - systems like Clever, or services that provide single sign on/integration between multiple applications;
- Student Information Systems - Powerschool, Infinite Campus, etc.;
- IEP authoring software;
- LMS or adaptive learning platforms, from Moodle to BrainHoney to Khan Academy to iReady to Edmodo.
Within the various types of data - ranging from time an app was accessed, to links clicked, to the actual physical location of the learner, there are additional concerns: what's covered under FERPA, COPPA, or PPRA? What is the best way for schools and districts to review data collection and use within these apps and services? How should these decisions be communicated to students, teachers, and parents? Additionally, when we talk about data, we often cite the benefits of anonymized data sets without considering any potential for re-identification.
This Is Always The Subject
But really, whenever we talk about data in education, we are talking about people watching other people doing things - and this is where data collection and analysis ties in with privacy, equity, and power. What learners are more observed than others? What groups of people get to interrogate the "how" and "why" of data collection? What populations are sold the idea that constant observation through data collection is being done for their benefit? When and how do people get to review information that has been collected about them? Who gets to opt out of being observed, in whole or in part? Who determines what gets collected? Who determines how long the data is retained?
To be clear, intelligent use of reliable data can allow us to do important things. For example, data lets us quantify that black preschoolers get suspended at alarmingly disproportionate rates. Used well, data can be used to get support to students before small issues become large issues (although this line of thought also assumes schools are adequately funded, and have ample resources and support staff).
But it bears asking: is privacy part of the price of a public education? Attending a charter school like Rocketship Academy, attending a school that uses Google Apps or Office 365, enrolling at a school that has an iPad program, or stores data in Schoolnet, or uses Edmodo, or connects apps via Clever, or warehouses data in Schoolzilla, or uses Khan Academy - any of these situations require that the process of a student's learning is collected and archived as a condition of learning. What does privacy look like in this situation? Who is given a choice about how privacy can be maintained?
When we talk about data, we rapidly bump into questions of who has the right to use data, and when people have the right to avoid observation. In this way, data collection and privacy become tightly related to personal and community empowerment.
Over the last few years, these issues have become more visible. If you want to support work that helps clarify these issues, and makes them accessible to people outside tech and education circles, please consider supporting the project.
