[okfn-za] School Report Cards
Adi Eyal
adi at code4sa.org
Mon Sep 22 08:30:43 UTC 2014
Thanks everyone for the great responses.
Next question - is there anything we, as a community can develop that will
encapsulate this conversation? I'm thinking of a tool that answers exactly
one question that can help parents/communities better engage with their
schools. I say one question because a cornucopia of data can dilute the
message and will turn the tool into an encyclopaedia of useless facts.
One example I can think of is something like - "Is the mathematics
education at my school up to scratch?".
Thoughts?
Is anyone will to help me develop this? I can imagine that we'll need:
1. Coders (html, backend).
2. A designer (to make it look kick-ass).
3. A mobile developer (probably someone who can write responsive html).
4. A data analyst (basically someone who can look at the data and make sure
that we don't bend too many noses out of joint).
5. A story teller - someone who can turn data into a story.
6. A copywriter - I still write like I did in my Std 8 essays.
7. Activists who can take this beyond just a cool toy and actually use this
to create a conversation.
8. Journalists who can do the same as activists (probably the story
tellers).
9. Data hunters - we need to feed this beast with real data.
10. Data cleaners - the data might not be clean enough to use as-is.
11. Apart from data, research into "why" as well as "what" might be useful
12. A project manager to coordinate this army of people.
13. Media relations (now I'm getting into the realms of megalomania :))
14. Finally, someone to put this concept together so that we know what it
is that is being built.
These are roles - not people, one person can take on multiple roles
obviously. You'll notice that there aren't that many techies in that list
since I believe that techie-driven projects are doomed to failure.
Any volunteers?
Adi
On 22 September 2014 09:48, Thoko Madonko <thoko.madonko at gmail.com> wrote:
> Dear Adi
>
> I agree great questions . Also many of us are fortunate enough to have the
> answers that are shown on the simple summary .
>
> However, our work in Limpopo, KZN and Eastern Cape shows that just the
> simple fast facts are not easily available and for those of us doing this
> kind of advocacy to be able to print this information off then go to the
> schools we work in and verify the information would be extremely useful.
> Furthermore, in some instances the Department of Basic Education does not
> know this information.
>
> For clinics the information is even more scarce. I would want to counter
> what should be the case with what actuall happens for example clinic hours,
> number of nurses, average waiting time, budget etc.
>
> Thoko
>
> *__________________________________________*
>
>
>
> On 19 September 2014 17:44, Raymond Joseph <rayjoe at iafrica.com> wrote:
>
>> And pass rate. Ray
>>
>>
>> Sent from Samsung Mobile
>>
>>
>>
>> -------- Original message --------
>> From: Adi Eyal <adi at code4sa.org>
>> Date: 19/09/2014 15:40 (GMT+02:00)
>> To: Thoko Madonko <thoko.madonko at gmail.com>
>> Cc: okfn-za at lists.okfn.org,odadi at googlegroups.com
>> Subject: Re: [okfn-za] School Report Cards
>>
>>
>>
>>> Definitely. To have a summary of this kind for our clinics and schools
>>> would be great. It's visually pleasing and easily understandble.
>>> Let me know if anything comes from the discussion.
>>>
>>
>> So, my question is specifically how would this be useful? What decision
>> would it help me make as a parent. Visualising arbitrary data is nice but
>> possibly not worth the effort. I can think of a couple of questions that I
>> would like answered which I think might be helpful:
>>
>> 1. What qualifications do the teachers in the school have
>> 2. How many kids in a class
>> 3. What extra-murals are available
>> 4. How does the school fare in sports
>> 5. Do I get bang for buck at the school
>> 6. What is the application / acceptance ratio
>> 7. What is the catchment area for a school (do catchment areas really
>> exist or are they made up by schools as an excuse to restrict access).
>>
>> What is that one killer question that data can answer that would make the
>> most impact on decision-makers (parents, teachers, policy-makers, etc)?
>>
>> Adi
>>
>>
>>>
>>> Thoko
>>>
>>> Fast Facts About WHITTIER ELEM SCHOOL
>>>
>>> - [image: ISAT]
>>>
>>> 85%
>>> ISAT Scores
>>>
>>> <http://illinoisreportcard.com/School.aspx?source=Trends&source2=ISAT&Schoolid=190220580022013>
>>>
>>> - [image: Average Class Size]
>>>
>>> 22
>>> Average Class Size
>>>
>>> <http://illinoisreportcard.com/School.aspx?source=Environment&source2=AverageClassSize&Schoolid=190220580022013>
>>>
>>> - [image: Total Enrollment]
>>>
>>> 294
>>> Total Enrollment
>>> - [image: Number Teachers]
>>>
>>> 279
>>> Teachers - District
>>> - [image: Mobility Rate]
>>>
>>> 3%
>>> Student Mobility
>>>
>>> <http://illinoisreportcard.com/School.aspx?source=Environment&source2=Mobility&Schoolid=190220580022013>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> - [image: Low Income]
>>>
>>> 4% Low-Income
>>> Students
>>>
>>> <http://illinoisreportcard.com/School.aspx?source=StudentCharacteristics&source2=LowIncome&Schoolid=190220580022013>
>>>
>>> - [image: English Learners]
>>>
>>> 2%
>>> English Learners
>>>
>>> <http://illinoisreportcard.com/School.aspx?source=StudentCharacteristics&source2=LEP&Schoolid=190220580022013>
>>>
>>> - [image: Student with Disabilities]
>>>
>>> 9% Students with Disabilities
>>>
>>> <http://illinoisreportcard.com/School.aspx?source=StudentCharacteristics&source2=IEP&Schoolid=190220580022013>
>>>
>>> - [image: Instructional Expenditure Per Student]
>>>
>>> $6,684 Instructional Spending
>>>
>>> <http://illinoisreportcard.com/School.aspx?source=Environment&source2=PerStudentSpending&Schoolid=190220580022013>
>>>
>>> - [image: Operational Expenditure Per Student]
>>>
>>> $11,893 Operational Spending
>>>
>>> <http://illinoisreportcard.com/School.aspx?source=Environment&source2=PerStudentSpending&Schoolid=190220580022013>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *__________________________________________*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 19 September 2014 11:40, Adi Eyal <adi at code4sa.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi All
>>>>
>>>> Jason just posted this in Naked Data:
>>>> http://schools.chicagotribune.com/
>>>>
>>>> I was wondering whether this group had any thoughts on this? Would it
>>>> be useful in the South African context? I'm not convinced that it
>>>> would really help me choose a school for my kids but I'm not sure. Is
>>>> there anything that you would improve? Do we have the data to do it?
>>>>
>>>> Regards
>>>> Adi
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Adi Eyal
>>>> Director
>>>> Code for South Africa
>>>> Promoting informed decision-making
>>>>
>>>> phone: +27 78 014 2469
>>>> skype: adieyalcas
>>>> linkedin: http://za.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Adi/Eyal
>>>> web: http://www.code4sa.org
>>>> twitter: @soapsudtycoon
>>>>
>>>> For more information on how to participate in the open data community
>>>> in South Africa, go to: http://www.code4sa.org/#community
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>>>
>>>
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>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Adi Eyal
>> Director
>> Code for South Africa
>> Promoting informed decision-making
>>
>> phone: +27 78 014 2469
>> skype: adieyalcas
>> linkedin: http://za.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Adi/Eyal
>> web: http://www.code4sa.org
>> twitter: @soapsudtycoon
>>
>> For more information on how to participate in the open data community in
>> South Africa, go to: http://www.code4sa.org/#community
>>
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>
>
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--
Adi Eyal
Director
Code for South Africa
Promoting informed decision-making
phone: +27 78 014 2469
skype: adieyalcas
linkedin: http://za.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Adi/Eyal
web: http://www.code4sa.org
twitter: @soapsudtycoon
For more information on how to participate in the open data community in
South Africa, go to: http://www.code4sa.org/#community
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