Take Control of YOUR Assessment System

Many years ago I was an operations research analyst. My boss asked me to analyze some data and prepare a report for him. The data was incomplete and difficult to verify, but I did my best. When I reviewed the results with him he was very pleased.

Two days later the boss stopped by my office with an unpleasant update. He had used my report in an important meeting. Unfortunately the data was found to be in error, the analysis was discredited, and the objective was lost. Lesson learned, you can delegate the work but not the responsibility.

The same thing holds true in education. These days many education Deans use the system offered by vendor XYZ. Vendor XYZ was used to qualify for accreditation in other institutions. Never mind the fact that it is not clearly understood and seldom used.

Educators may be able to assign the assessment work to an outside vendor, but not the responsibility for education improvement. If you are responsible for teacher education, your credibility should be dependent upon your teacher education assessment system. If you own the education assessment system, you are in the best position to validate the input, understand the processing, and verify output reports.

“How am I supposed to do that?” you ask. “I am already working like a packhorse!” The best way to maintain control will depend upon the culture of your institution. Here are four techniques an owner can use to assert an appropriate level of authority over their information system:

Document the system. An information system consists of manual and automated procedures that produce specific results. Make sure that there is a system diagram and narrative that describes the flow of information from data entry to reports. The system flow document should describe specific jobs and the results to be delivered. This documentation will help you understand what is going on. It will also help the people doing the work do their job. Give your formal approval to this documentation as well as any updates that are required.

Define service levels. Some portions of your teacher education assessment system will be under your control, while other steps will be completed by supporting services. The performance expectations from supporting services should be defined and agreed upon. These service level agreements will allow you to monitor operations. You can assist your service providers by calling attention to a lag in performance before it turns into a serious problem.

Establish a change management procedure. Periodic system changes will be necessary. They may come from demands for new information or a need to extend the life of your system. It is just as important to preserve existing capabilities as it is to implement your system updates. A formal change management process will help ensure that your system is not compromised as a result of a change.

Validate reports before they are released. The success of your teacher education assessment system will be most evident in the powerful reports it produces. Add your review and approval to the release of important reports. This will help you utilize the reports. More importantly, it will enable you to spot problems before the whole world sees them. If a report doesn’t make sense to you, stop the show until you are comfortable with it.

These methods have reaffirmed system owner control over information systems in the past. There are several more techniques that may be useful depending upon your situation. These four examples, however, should reassure you that something positive can be done if you feel that you are losing control.