Evaluating Education Information Systems: Implementation of Longitudinal Student Data Systems in Six School Districts

Education reformers are currently spending significant resources and effort advocating for school districts to adopt integrated, longitudinal computer systems. They hope the systems will help teachers understand their students as well as adapt their teaching methods. Additionally, they argue higher-quality data will help administrators and policymakers determine if schools are successful. This paper describes the experiences of six districts as they adopted education information systems, discusses emergent themes based on their cases, and explores implications for policymakers and school leaders.