Data driven decision making has been the education buzzword since the start of this century. While, data is gathered and manipulated to justify any choice made to forward any education agenda, the privacy rights of students are trampled.
Rarely, if ever, are parents notified that their children’s personally identifiable information (PII) will be shared. In the case of PII shared by the Arizona Department of Education, parents would not have likely given permission to access the data, if they were granted the opportunity.
There is a growing awareness about the dangers of data mining. As we have seen this week in the news, even the federal government’s data is vulnerable. We now know – without a doubt – that the risks are everywhere and no one’s data is fully protected.
The risk is not just to a child’s whereabouts, but what they are about.
In her article, “The Psychological Testing in Common Core Standards,” Donna Garner discusses the Common Core based Pearson Clinical Tests, which “contain very personal questions. Teachers enter personal, subjective observations about their students into the Pearson database. Pearson’s privacy policy says they will share the information with their contractors and that the policy can change without notice….. It is not a stretch to imagine that students’ personally identifiable information could indeed be used against them for college admissions and/or future employment.”
It appears that over time, Arizona’s students’ PII was shared with a wide variety of entities for a wide variety of purposes. It also appears that the students, whose data was shared, were not always – either directly – or indirectly – beneficiaries of the “knowledge” gained from their PII. As seen in the agreement between the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) and Eric Hedberg on Behalf of NORC, even the kids who do not test are ripe for data mining.
ADE entered into a data sharing agreement with Eric Hedberg on Behalf of NORC, on May 1, 2014. NORC obtains data to “drive evidence-based decisions and improve public policy in fields such as health, education, economics, crime, justice, energy, security, and the environment.” The project is funded by the Helios Education Foundation, according to the agreement.
As noted by Joy Pullman with The Heartland Institute, Common Core Communications Collaborative’s (CCCC)“founding members are the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Helios Education Foundation, Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Lumina Foundation, and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation.
Funded by Helios, NORC Senior Research Scientist Eric Hedberg requested specific data regarding students for the following purpose:
“There is a large public interest in producing a state average ACT score. However, those who choose to take the test do not reflect a random sample. Using survey non-response adjustments, this project seeks to use administrative data to estimate mean ACT scores for junior cohorts for all available years.”
Data to be provided by ADE:
• School identifier (AZED ID or NCES ID preferred)
• 8th grade AIMS Math and Reading scores Student Race and Ethnicity status
• Student disability status (general IEP codes are sufficient, if districts provide codes which identify the disability)
• Student Free/Reduced Price Lunch indicator (eligible or receiving), or another indicator of poverty
• Student English Leaner indicator
• Student gender
• Subject-specific ACT scores (all tests)
• Composite ACT scores (all tests)
• Any available non-cognitive elements of ACT scores (all tests)
Intended Use of Data:
“A model will be estimated to predict the likelihood of taking the ACT. From this model, weights will be created and use to estimate weighted means that reflect population means of ACT scores, according to the agreement.
Hedberg’s published research includes Arts Education in America: What the Declines Mean for Arts Participation, Esuba: A Psychoeducation Group for Incarcerated Survivors of Abuse, Examining School-Based Bullying Interventions Using Multilevel Discrete Time Hazard Modeling, and Intraclass Correlation Values for Planning Group-Randomized Experiments in Rural Education.
Data Use Theory of Action was developed by Public Consulting Group. The theory of action describes three foundational conditions that support the data informed actions that will ultimately impact student outcomes: the usefulness of data, the capacity of stakeholders to use the data, and an organization-wide culture that supports and expects the use of data to inform decisions.
According to Public Consulting Group, Inc’s theory of action, “if the necessary conditions for data use (data usefulness, data capacity, and data culture) are in place, and data are being used to formulate policy, evaluate and design programs, guide practice, and place students in appropriate instructional settings, then increased student achievement will result. Research also suggests that for data use to have a profound impact on student achievement, it must be sustained over time, take place systemically throughout all levels of the organization, and be student centered.” http://www.k12.wa.us/cedars/data/pubdocs/fulltoolkit.pdf
Public Consulting Group, Inc entered into an agreement on March 25, 2013 with the Arizona Department of Education. According to the agreement, “The Department intends to pilot the use of EdPlan for purposes of audit and evaluation of student and teacher performance. This MOU will set out the terms and conditions under which PCG may have access to the Personally Identifiable Information necessary for the use of EdPlan. PCG may have access to such information only for use as described in this Memorandum and only under the terms and conditions described in this Memorandum.”
The information includes:
• Public SAIS ID
• First, Middle and Last Name
• Birthdate
• Generation
• Gender
• Ethnicity
• ELL
• SPED
• Title I
• Course Name
• Subject
• Grade
• Course entry and exit dates
Based on a review of the company’s website, it appears that EduPlan is either a tool to pigeon-hole students through testing results or provide quick interventions. The website description reads: “PCG offers a state-of-the-art assessment and curriculum management platform that is fully compliant with QTI™ Version 2.1 and leverages emerging LTI, LRMI, and Learning Registry standards. Educators can build, manage, and administer assessments through our quick test entry, item authoring, item banks importing features. Our tools enable educators to easily view data from multiple sources, group students by ability group, suggest supplemental resources, and modify lesson plans to differentiate instruction.”
An unnamed “Supervisor II, Curriculum and Assessment Phoenix Union High School District Phoenix, Arizona” endorses the product on PCG’s website: “This technology allows us to quickly diagnose, react, and respond using readily accessible data. As we strive to prepare every student in Phoenix Union High School District for college, career and life, prevention is the key and the early warning system is our vehicle.”
The Arizona Department of Education entered into an agreement with Arizona State University’s School of Social Transformation on December 19, 2013. According to the agreement the “ADE has provided and will continue to provide ASU with the data requested on Attachment A (Data request submitted by Dr. Scott) by means of a secure file transfer.”
Dr. Kimberly A. Scott is an Associate Professor in the Women and Gender Studies Department at Arizona State University (ASU) and Founder/Executive Director of ASU’s Center for Gender Equity in Science and Technology.
According to the agreement, Scott required the information for a “research project for the State of Black Arizona to encourage dialogue and promote change by presenting research, data and different points of view on the status of African Americans in Arizona. The general purpose of this research is to create a prediction model that forecasts the probability of diverse groups’ preparedness to complete high school and enter into a Science, Technology, Engineering or Math major or career. The four stage project will examine disadvantaged populations with high school dropout rates.”
Representative Reginald Bolding, a staunch opponent to student privacy legislation and Common Core advocate, sits on the Advisory Council of The State of Black Arizona. Bolding is the Director of Public Partnerships for Teach for America-Phoenix. The read the report click here.
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice made their agenda very clear. The Foundation entered an agreement with ADE on January 15, 2013, to “examine whether parents are using ESA funds as they would with a traditional school voucher to attend a private school of choice, or if they are using ESAs to customize their child’s education, divvying up the money to pay for different education-related options and services.”
One would only hope, that an organization dedicated to parental choice, would in the future ask parents for permission before taking their child’s PII.
In the case of Mathematica Policy Research, Inc’s agreement with ADE, student and/or teacher performance was not at issue at all.
According to the agreement entered into on March 14, 2014:
“Mathematica will use the information provided by ADE as specified in this Agreement solely for the purpose of analyzing SNAP and TANF data used to directly certify children for free school lunches in the NSLP program for the USDA Food and Nutrition Service. The analysis will consist of evaluating students who have been matched through direct certification, and those who have been left unmatched, utilizing the key information (data elements used in match process) obtained from SNAP and TANF program data.”
“The NSLP Direct Certification Improvement Study is being conducted in all fifty States, as well as the District of Columbia and Guam. Seven States, including Arizona, have been specifically selected for on-site in-depth case studies to provide a greater understanding of the direct certification practices involved.”
The study team will gather technical information about data-matching system characteristics; probe the potential use of Medicaid data for direct certification; and explore the issues, challenges, and potential solutions to barriers that impede efforts to directly certify all eligible SNAP participants.
“Under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, 42 USC §§ 1751 et seq., and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, 42 USC §§ 1771 et seq., FNS has authority to conduct this study under its responsibility for the development and implementation of national policy for the National School Lunch Program, including the promulgation of regulations, monitoring State operations, review and reimbursement of State and local expenditures, and program evaluations. Likewise, under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, P.L. 111-296 (42 USC § 1769(d)), all FNS programs including NSLP are expected to cooperate with program research and evaluation activities such as the NSLP Direct Certification Improvement Study.”
“The SNAP/TANF file will include all children receiving SNAP and TANF benefits, the specific data elements used in the match process, as well as indicators for whether the children were matched or unmatched in the direct certification process. The data will be provided to Mathematica no later than March 31, 2013.”
Mathematica will also conduct a thorough analysis of all primary and extant data assembled for this project. The resulting analysis will be synthesized in a final report that will provide an updated nationwide profile of direct certification methods, direct certification rates by method, trends, process improvements, and a discussion of barriers and challenges encountered. Further results of the analysis will be a metadata repository prototype that will serve as a “one-stop” for the most up to-date information on data-matching information systems and database characteristics to facilitate improved direct certification systems in each State and LEA.”
Sheffield Hallam University entered into an agreement on March 26, 2013 with ADE. Drew Alexander, formerly with Intel, in Chandler, received a Masters Information Systems degree in the Faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering and Sciences Department from Sheffield Hallam University in 2014.
Sheffield Hallam University requested that ADE provide it certain Personally Identifiable Information.
According to the agreement:
“Sheffield Hallam University will use the Pll and other data for the purpose of a study entitled “To what extent is information technology being applied in Arizona elementary schools for special education students who are suffering from autism spectrum conditions?”
ADE will provide Sheffield Hallam University with longitudinal disaggregated data on children with autistic spectrum conditions/disorders at the Prescott Unified School District and Humboldt Unified School District in grades Kindergarten through grade 5. More specifically, ADE will provide student level data for years 2008 through 2011 containing the school name, Ethnicity, Gender, English Language Learner Status.”
“The study will be conducted by Drew Alexander. He is conducting research related to the use of assistive technology & computer aided instructional in rural Arizona schools for students in grades K-5 who are suffering from autism spectrum disorder for his dissertation.”
His LinkedIn profile shows that he is now the Chief Operating Officer at Cardinal Industries, Inc. in Prescott, Arizona.
These agreements represent only a small sample of data delivered by the ADE.
When asked about the agreements, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas’s spokesperson Sally Stewart responded by email, “The MOUs mentioned in your story were approved by a previous administration. Superintendent Douglas is currently reviewing departmental policy.”
Douglas has been largely occupied with her own welfare, as she flits around the state on her “Listening Tour” in an effort to beat back those calling for her recall. As the tour winds down, many hope she gets down to the business of protecting students’ data and fights for both parental and students’ rights.