The Importance of Using a Student Information System (SIS) Effectively

Christopher Maddux, Director of Technology at Queen Creek Unified School District

Student information systems (SIS) are essential tools for educational institutions of all sizes. They help schools to manage student data, track progress, and streamline administrative tasks. However, in order to realize the full benefits of an SIS, it is important to have good data, know how to use the system, and explore all of its features.

Good Data is Essential

Good data quality is essential for the effectiveness of an SIS. If the data is inaccurate or incomplete, it will be difficult for schools to track student progress, make informed decisions about their education, and get proper funding. This is why it’s important to have a system in place to ensure that data is entered accurately and up-to-date.

This includes developing data entry procedures and guidelines, training staff on the importance of data quality and how to enter data correctly, implementing data validation checks, conducting regular data audits, and reconciling data from different sources.

Good data quality allows schools to use their SIS to improve student learning and outcomes. For example, teachers can use data to identify students who are struggling in a particular subject area and need additional support. Administrators can use data to track student attendance and identify students who are at risk of dropping out. Counselors can use data to help students develop academic plans and identify career pathways. Parents can use data to track their child's progress and identify areas where they may need to provide additional support at home.

"Good data quality allows schools to use their SIS to improve student learning and outcomes."

By investing in data quality, schools can make the most of their SIS and improve the quality of education they provide to their students.

Knowing How to Use the System

Once a student information system (SIS) is populated with good data, it is important to know how to use the system effectively. This includes understanding the different features of the SIS and how to use them to accomplish different tasks, such as generating reports, tracking student progress, communicating with parents, and managing student enrollment and registration.

SIS vendors will offer training to help schools learn how to use their system. It is important to take advantage of this training and ensure your instructional coaches and trainers learn how to fully and properly use the system so that they can in turn train the teachers and staff. New teacher orientation and regular professional development classes should have dedicated time to train all staff in the proper use of the system.

In addition to formal training, there are a number of other ways to learn how to use an SIS effectively, such as reviewing the SIS documentation, joining SIS user groups and forums, attending SIS conferences and workshops, and networking with other schools that are using the same SIS.

By dedicating time to learning how to use the SIS effectively, schools can get the most out of their investment, reduce the cost and frustration of support, and improve the quality of education they provide to their students.

Exploring All the Features

These systems often offer a wide range of features, but many schools do not use all of them. It is important to explore all of the features of the SIS and identify the ones that can be used to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the school. As the vendors are continuously improving systems and adding features, it’s important to periodically explore the features, even if you have had the same system for years.

I recently attended a demo from the software company that created our SIS. I was not the only one in the room who was impressed with many of the features we didn’t know existed and were already available to us. It made us realize how little we really knew about the system and what we could do with it.

By discovering all the available features, schools can identify new ways to save time and streamline administrative tasks, improve communication and collaboration between students, parents, teachers, and administrators, make more informed decisions about school policies and programs, and better support student learning and outcomes.

By taking the time to explore all of the features of their SIS, schools can identify new ways to improve their operations and support student learning.