Management Information Systems (MIS) and pupil tracking: Users' guidance

Publication date:

Oct 2008

Ref:

00756-2008PDF-EN-02

Audience:

Deputy headteacher, Headteacher, Local authority staff, Parent, Teacher

Function:

Data, Guidance, Pupil tracking, Pupil tracking, School improvement, Target Setting, Training materials, Data improvement library, Using data for improvement

Format:

Booklet

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Using MIS to support pupil attainment tracking: users' guidance

Schools are increasingly recognising the benefits of systematically tracking pupils' academic progress throughout their learning to help ensure that they remain on track to reach their potential. Many teachers and managers within schools are developing systems to harness the flow of data and other information generated by regular periodic assessments of attainment. This document explores the main ways in which assessment data can be managed effectively in support of personalised learning and narrowing attainment gaps, and in particular, how school Management Information Systems (MIS) can help.

This paper concentrates on Key Stages 1 to 4. The principles apply to earlier and later years but school and MIS systems would need to reflect the different assessment frameworks in these phases.

A parallel guidance document has been published for use by MIS developers. The National Strategies and the DCSF will work with the developers to help them to understand the expectations placed on schools so that they can ensure that their systems have the functionality necessary to support effective pupil tracking.

This document does not attempt to deal with all the statutory requirements concerning related assessment matters such as making national data returns or constructing the Common Transfer File (CTF). Similarly, managers within school will want to use assessment data as part of their review and quality assurance processes but these are not the focus of this document. However, MIS can help to ensure that core assessment data generated in school can contribute towards all these purposes without the need for repeated data entry.

In preparing this guidance, visits were made to a wide range of schools and local authorities and their cooperation is appreciated. Aspects of some of these schools' practice is exemplified within the text although the school identities have been anonymised.

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