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New student data system coming to Howard County schools
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Howard County (Map, News) - A new record and grade-keeping system will be introduced into Howard County public schools this coming school year as the school system removes an old program that resulted in late report cards and incorrect grade point averages.
“We have to have a system that’s an efficient way to process the data,” said schools spokeswoman Patti Caplan.
“We had run into some glitches in getting out some of the student report cards.”
The school board recently voted to enter into a three-year contract with X2 Development Corp. of Hingham, Mass. for the $1.5 million system.
The school system uses several programs to track student data, including Pearson Education’s Student Management System, and MacSchool software for enrollment, and other locally developed applications for grading and reporting at the high school level.
The Pearson Education software called Chancery Student Management System was blamed for causing recurring problems for high-schoolers such as late report cards, delayed schedules and incorrect grade-point averages.
Two years ago, seniors did not receive their final report cards until after graduation.
“As far as I recall, it didn’t affect anything,” said School Board Vice Chairwoman Ellen Flynn Giles. “It was just inconvenient and embarrassing.”
No one was prevented from meeting graduation requirements or scholarships opportunities, she said.
The new system would be better for high school students, where the amount of data collected increases over time because of the state-mandated tests and other records, school officials said.
The new data system, according to X2 Development, will:
- Consolidate information on student grades, registration and enrollment, disciplinary actions, attendance and health records.
- Allow parents to view their child’s records.
- Allow parents to alert schools about outdated or missing incorrect information.
The program will be implemented first in elementary schools with a goal of having all of them in the new system, as well as one middle and high school, as soon as possible in the coming school year.
All middle and high schools are expected to be included in the system by the end of the 2009-10 school year, officials said.
jkowalkowski@baltimoreexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
5:49 PM MST on Thu., Aug. 7, 2008 re: "Howard school officials stress camera system to monitor behavior"
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2:41 PM MST on Fri., Jul. 25, 2008
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2:23 PM MST on Fri., Jul. 25, 2008
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Examiner Reader said:
what did the school bus drivers of howard county get in a pay raise? 0 %
2 agree | 2 disagree
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Mom in Ellicott City said:
Interesting... Deputy Superintendent Sandra Erickson's quote: “The students, teachers and administration are to be congratulated for this achievement.” Interesting she forgot to mention the parents. As a Worthington parent I can testify to the countless hours of parental volunterism and selfless donation of time to the success of the school. One can only imagine the time we spend helping, encouraging, shaping and discipling our children to help them understand the value and importance of taking their education seriously. Don't get me wrong, none of this would be possible without the dedicated teachers and helpful administrators, but by Deputy Superintendent Erickson's personal bias is reflected in her not mentioning the parents as a big (or even small) part of this equation for success. Thanks, Examiner, for helping us to see the facts.
1 agree | 3 disagree
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Jennifer, Columbia, MD said:
If teachers received a 5% increase, how did the school exec get 13%? I think maybe 5%-8% would be reasonable and fair. Especially when you consider that at his salary range, the additional income falls into the fun category, not the basics-of-survival category. Booooo on those decision makers...bad decision!
3 agree | 1 disagree
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Becka in Howard County said:
Maybe we should ask the government to *fix* the high price of homes. After all, that is why we have a government, isn't it - to oversee and regulate all personal enterprise, money earning and spending choices, and to make sure everybody gets *everything* they want? ;-)
3 agree | 2 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
The entire county needs to update their computer system. Howard County still requires applicants to print their job applications. C'mon it's 2008.
2 agree | 2 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Affluenza is alive and well in Howard County. The numbers go like this $273,400.00 (salary + car) / 365 days a year (assuming anyone that receives this kind of salary must be working 365 days a year) divided by an 8 hour work day (at least) = $93.63 per hour. How many graduates from the HCPSS earn $93.63 per hour? Benefits are not even factored in. The real shocker is that on the next page of the Examiner there was a "News in Brief" that said that school lunches will be going up in HCPSS in the 2008-2009 school year due to "salary" increases. What's the saying, "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer".
3 agree | 3 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
The Howard County leadership is a joke!!
5 agree | 5 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Correction, 13% raise not 15%. My bad. I don't want the powers to be to appear greedy.
4 agree | 3 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
15% raise? Again the general employees are left with a measly 3% raise. If Ulman and the county council want to justify these raises by comparing salaries to other counties then why don't they compare the general employees yearly increment raises to Montgomery Co? Instead of giving us the shaft year after year why don't they step up and do the responsible thing and give us what we are worth.
4 agree | 3 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Thanks, now I know who to vote against. Anybody other than these three.
5 agree | 4 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Why are the lights out at night in Columbia,Md? To conserve energy? With the crime increasing I think turning the lights out is a bad idea. (The lights are out in the Oakland Mills area,I-29,I-175,and other surrounding areas in Columbia.)
5 agree | 6 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Dear 6:27 AM, "So the housing market reality of economic supply and demand "doesn't" fit... and THAT is what is wrong with the educational system.
6 agree | 5 disagree
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Examiner reader said:
Maryland is a high cost state. There are many Maryland teachers and police officers that live farther out in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Are we as taxpayers supposed to double their starting salaries so they can afford a home in a certain county. We do not pay them to live somewhere, we pay them to do a job. The housing market is a free market and people will live where they can afford and there is little the state can do about existing supply and demand.
6 agree | 7 disagree
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Tired of Nonsense said:
Who cares where the teachers live? I don't care if they live in VA or PA! Why does it matter where they sleep at night? What matters is if they can deliver a quality education to the children of my county. They are paid to do a job not to live in a certain zip code.
6 agree | 7 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
So the housing market reality of economic supply and demand don't fit the desires of a teacher earning a starting salarly of $44,000. Grow up.
4 agree | 5 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Sydney Cousin is at least qualified to serve. Unlike "Secretary of the Cabinet" Ulman.
5 agree | 4 disagree
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Reader said:
8:49 Go edit something. Redistricting saves millions of my tax dollars! Wash the new school additions and buildings. Really scare the pants off their arses. Just put college funding and tuition in the coffers for the monster children the city raises. I am still waiting for the equal rights act on white children funding. Sue teh pants off tuition discrimination. Teh way I see it, discrimination has been in my back pocket since 1999!
5 agree | 4 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
To the Examiner Reader who writes "Redistricting Sucks," I recommend that rather than expend your energy and anger on your transfer to Marriotts' Ridge that you concentrate on improving your grammar and writing abilities.
4 agree | 3 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
REDISTRICTING SUCKS. I still dread the fact you redistricted me over to Marriotts' Ridge High instead of me originally going to Centennial High. I STILL dread it ever since freshman year 2005.
3 agree | 3 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
So let's assume that the Board approves a new Mount Hebron? What will happen when other aging high schools(eg Atholton, Centennial) come to the Board in a year or two with a similar request? This sort of issue is never addressed in Examiner articles, but should be.
7 agree | 5 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Not being in finance, my rough estimate is that a $661.1 million dollar budget for 210 days (the approximate number of days that a student would be in school) equals $3.14 million per day. At $468.8 million it equals $2.23 million dollars per instructional day. If we were to divide the number of students that attend the HC schools it would reveal the amount that is spent on each student per day. Not knowing the exact number of students, but averaging 50,000 this comes out to about $40.00 per student per day, or $8,400.00 per student per instructional year. If in fact $8,400.00 is being spent on each student, I feel that it is all fine and good, but is $8,400.00 really being spent on each student or are there frills that could be cut and the money better spent to provide an egalitarian education for all the children in the system?
6 agree | 4 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
The HC school budget is an endless sink hole that could consume the entire budget and still need more. The postitions being cut are make work welfare.
6 agree | 5 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Isn't this the same Positive Behavior Program Baltimore City is now seeing the results of?
5 agree | 5 disagree
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Bennett said:
We must continue all efforts in this area.
5 agree | 6 disagree
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Reader said:
Someone is making a pretty penny eventually. Solar power was my idea years ago because it pays off in the long run....I light my smokes with solar power. These fools today deserve no credit. A GED education can run circles around a future budgeters given the chance.
5 agree | 6 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
They spent 7.8million dollars to save how much.
6 agree | 5 disagree
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Get r done said:
The community has been patient with the renovation for at least 4 years now. THe board was lacking the vision 4 years ago. When they built Marriotts Ridge and didn't renovate Hebron when they had a half empty school out at Marriotts Ridge for two years. We are disappointed and the comment we are getting only 50 million. Who cares nothings being done right. Five dollars Five trillion if not fixed right it's money down the drain or should I say up a drain at Mt. Hebron. Come on board show us some love.
8 agree | 5 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Maybe Mount Hebron would have been renovated years ago with money that was used to construct schools that look like shopping malls.
6 agree | 6 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
No wonder Howard County is now in a deficit (it was in a surplus before Ulman). How much money is Ulman wasting on this trip to India? Maybe we can outsource the County Executive job to someone in India? Just because Ulman was "Secretary of the Cabinet" (whatever that is), doesn't mean he should be County Executive.
37 agree | 40 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Hey Ulman, you want to help economic development in Howard County? Stay in India.
45 agree | 36 disagree
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Guard? What Guard? said:
Ready for this? The inmates on workcrews can walk away whenever they want. The one guard assigned to the crew is UNARMED and--you won't believe this--does not have a radio. The guard depends on the yellow trash truck's driver to use his (the driver's) radio if help is needed or an escape occurs! Now that's a story for the Examiner to check out.
49 agree | 52 disagree
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You have got to be kidding me! said:
I would rather have old trash on the street than living trash! I suggest a chaingang if they have to do it. And hook the security guards up to it too.
45 agree | 51 disagree
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Chachee said:
4 Ellicott City Schools are put on lockdown to protect student and faculty from an escaped inmate. I am thankful that those precautions were taken. However, the students were told that someone had escaped from a correctional facility and was seen near the school. Actually, the Brockbridge Correctional Facility brought the inmate to a location near the schools, let him loose and didn't keep an eye on him. And that is why he was seen near the schools. And if the inmate crew wasn't that big, how could they have not kept an eye on them all? DO YOUR JOB Brockbridge Correctional Security!
55 agree | 53 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Putting more money and staffing into special education is always a wise investment. These students are our future also. Remember 35% of America's entrepreneurs are dyslexic, so helping these students in school will prepare them better for business and therefore help the economy.
73 agree | 61 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Last week a Maryland-based trade magazine gives MD schools a letter grade of "B". This week, they're already jostling for position at the trough. Funny how that works.
58 agree | 63 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
How about raises only for certified teachers? How about the normal pay only for certified teachers? How about only one teacher per classroom instead of it taking two to teach Algebra in some cases? How about a return to higher class size and fiscal responsibility? Then we can afford the pay increase.
61 agree | 66 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Just imagine, an overweight couch potato teacher nagging kids about life style and health issues. A sad joke, but typical. More Socialist do what I say.
61 agree | 69 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Nanny State nonsence and a waste of tax dollors. Teach reading, writing, and arithmetic and leave the life style training to the parents.
56 agree | 60 disagree
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Jeff, an Independent said:
How about giving the teachers a raise while you are at it?
62 agree | 71 disagree
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