1. Module 2: Managing Data: School Records Management System
A Training Course for the
Analysis and Reporting of Data from
Education Management Information Systems (EMIS)

2. Overview Purpose of school records
Managing Data: School Records Management System
Purpose of school records
Sources of information for school records
School Records Management Systems
Types of School Records
Benefits of School Records

3. Purpose of school records
Policy makers and planners use information from school records for monitoring the education system
School record keeping is critical for the management and accountability of the education system.
School records are used in the management and operation of schools
School records are used to inform parents and communities about their school
Schools also need to systematically maintain and use school records so that information is available to policy makers and planners for monitoring the education system. Improving data and information management in schools is critical for the management and accountability in the education system. The implementation of a SRMS can also help schools to better inform and cooperate with their local communities about the management and operation of their school.

4. Managing school records
A school records data and information about the operations of the school using:
pre-designed school record forms
procedures in education regulations and policies
Different school staff can be responsible for
school records on students, teachers, facilities, finances etc
recording, storing, updating and retrieving information
Review school records to decide which should be:
retained
archived
transferred
Managing school records
In a school, the SRMS has to involve various school staff to systematically record data and information about different aspects of the school’s operations. They use specific, pre-designed school record forms and follow procedures that are defined by education regulations and requirements. Different staff can be responsible for different school records and procedures in recording, storing, updating and retrieving information. At the end of each school year, the records that have been accumulated are reviewed to determine which records should be retained, archived or sent to a central or district education office for retention.

5. Functions of school records system

6. Quality of school records
Poor record keeping affects school management
efficiency
effectiveness
Good records management practices:
creating and updating school records
using correct records forms
applying right terminology and definitions
submitting record files for storage/retrieval
Quality of school records
Poor recording of key school management information and poorly managed school records can seriously affect the efficiency and effectiveness of a school. To systematically manage school records, each person must assume their respective roles in creating and updating school records using correct records forms, terminology and practices, and submit the record files to the designated place of storage on time.

7. Sources of information for school records
School records should record information about:
Students
Teachers
School finance
Physical facilities
Teaching/learning resources
Learning outcomes
Extra/co-curricular activities
Community involvement  
School Reords
Students
Schools
Teachers
Resources
Facilities
Finance
Learning outcomes
Commun-ities
Information for schools records
School records should record data and information about:
1. Students – personal and family characteristics, previous educational experience, current grade, attendance, academic performance, behaviour, achievements/faults, outcomes (e.g. promotion to next grade, repeating grade, drop out, transfer, or graduation).
2. Teachers – personal characteristics, past education, qualification, pre-service and in-service teacher training received, years of service, employment status, subject specialization, class/subject taught, teaching load, special skills, attendance, performance, behaviour.
3. Finance – school budget and income by source, expenditure by type, financial balance.
4. Physical facilities – quantity and conditions of school buildings, classrooms, furniture, equipment and other physical facilities; maintenance, repairs and new constructions; rate of utilisation.
5. Teaching/learning materials – quantity and conditions by type of material, new acquisitions, rate of utilisation.
6. Learning achievement and outcomes – results of tests, examinations and assessments (regarding academic, behavioural and other student attributes).
7. Extra-curricular and co-curricular activities – type of activities, schedules, staff involved, number of participants, results, impact.
8. School and community interactions – school management board meetings, parent-teacher association activities, school-and-community activities.

8. Computerised record systems
Computers store records for fast:
sorting
searching
data retrieval
Computerised record system can:
analyse the recorded data
generate summary statistics
performance indicators
tables and graphs
lists of students and teachers.
Computerised record systems
Computers can help to manage school records by storing information in a way that allows for rapid sorting, searching and retrieval of data. Besides reducing the use and handling of papers, an additional advantage of a computerized system is that it can help to analyse the recorded data and quickly generate various summary statistics, performance indicators, tables and graphs, and even detailed school management information, such as lists of students and teachers. .

9. School Record Management Systems (SRMS)
enables systematic and reliable recording and updating of data and information
provides mechanisms, procedures, tools and practices to record data
keep records in organized storage for easy access, retrieval and use.
Better Records
A good SRMS enables systematic and reliable recording and updating of data and information. Such a system embodies mechanisms, procedures, tools and practices to record data and to keep them in organized storage for easy access, retrieval and use. School records can, therefore, be used to assess: (a) how the school uses various resources to organize educational programmes and activities, (b) how such programmes and activities took place, and (c) what were the outcomes, issues and lessons learnt.

10. Purpose of SRMS School Records Management System (SRMS):
records, stores and updates the school’s data and information
uses school records on students, teachers, classes, facilities and finances.
supports evidence-based management of the school by principals and teachers
The main purpose of the School Records Management System (SRMS) is to systematically record, store and update the school’s data and information. The information from the SRMS is used to support evidence-based management of the school. School records contain data and information about a school, including data about students, teachers, classes, facilities and finances.
The records data in the SRMS is used by school principals to make decisions about their school’s operations. Principals need up-to-date and accurate information in order to make good decisions. A SRMS systematically collects, stores and analyses school records so that relevant and reliable information is available to support management decision.

11. SRMS Functions: School Records Management Systems involves record - :
Creation
Storage
Update
Retrieval
Use
Appraisal
Archiving
Disposal
Functions of a school records system
A School Records Management System typically involves the following activities:
1. Creation – beginning a new record and starting to record data and information
2. Storage – keeping the records in an organized manner
3. Update – adding new information to a record or modifying existing information
4. Retrieval – searching for, locating and extracting records from storage.
5. Use – applying information from the records to make management and policy decisions.
6. Appraisal and retention – retained for active use; archived; or disposed.
7. Archiving – storing inactive records so they can be later retrieved for use.
8. Disposal – discarding, deleting or destroying a record.

12. Types of School Records
Common types of records:
Student record card
Class attendance sheet
Textbook record sheet
Student performance summary
Teacher record
Teacher performance appraisal
Inventory of physical facilities
Inventory of resource materials
Financial summary
Types of School Records
The most common types of records
1. Student record card
2. Class attendance sheet
3. Textbook record sheet
4. Student performance summary
5. Teacher record
6. Teacher performance evaluation
7. Inventory of physical facilities
8. Inventory of resource materials
9. Financial summary

13. Student record card Student record cards:
are used to record and manage information about individual students
are created for each student when they first enroll or register at the school
record information about student’s personal and family details
provide a record of grade progression and academic performance during their enrolment at the school
1. Student record card
Student record cards are used to record and manage information about individual students.
The school creates a new student record card for each student when they enroll, to record information about the student’s personal and family details. During the student’s attendance at school, additional information about academic performance, progression, and changes in the personal and family details are included.

15. Class attendance sheet
Class attendance sheets:
records presence and/or absence of individual students.
are used by schools to calculate attendance rates
are used by teachers to generate lists of students with frequent absence from class
provides evidence of regular absences for follow-up action by school principal and teachers
2. Class attendance sheet
Teachers use class attendance sheets to record the presence and absence of individual students.
Schools can use these attendance sheets to calculate attendance rates by grade, class, sex, age in order to monitor the regularity and patterns of students attending class, and to generate lists of students with frequent absence from class, so that actions can be taken by the school and teachers to enquire into the causes of absence and to find ways to get students to regularly attend class.

17. Textbook record sheet
The purpose of textbook record sheets is to monitor whether all the students have all the textbooks for all subjects.
Textbook record sheets:
record each student’s possession of textbooks
identify students who do not have textbooks
allocate and distribute textbooks to students
contact parents to obtain for missing textbooks
3. Textbook record sheet
Textbook record sheets are created and used to monitor whether all the students in a class have all the textbooks required for all subjects. Their main purpose is to record each student’s possession of the required textbooks, and to identify students who do not have certain textbooks so that action can be taken to either directly obtain and distribute to them the missing textbook(s), or to contact the parents of the student in order to assist them in acquiring the textbooks.

18. Student performance summary
The purpose of student performance summaries is to monitor the academic and behavioural performance of a class of students.
Student performance summaries are useful for:
recording examination and assessment marks
comparing and analysing test scores for students
identifying top, average and low performers in a class
recording school detentions and suspensions
4. Student performance summary
Student performance summaries monitor the academic and behavioural performance of a class of students. They are useful for recording, comparing and analysing the scores obtained by individual students in examinations and assessments on various subjects during a school term or school year, and to identify the top, average and low performers in a class. Once an individual student’s performance results are validated, they may be added to the corresponding student record cards.

19. Teacher record card A teacher record card:
is created for each teacher who teaches in a school
records personal, educational and employment details
provides information on role and responsibilities at the school
identifies teaching experience, competencies and aptitude of teachers
used by school principals to determine teaching assignments, duties, responsibilities and workload.
5 Teacher record card
A teacher record is created for each teacher who teaches in a school. It records each teacher’s personal, educational and employment characteristics and information about the teacher’s role and responsibilities at the school. The school principal can use the teacher record cards to look up and compare the educational background, experience, competencies and aptitude of teachers to determine their assignments, duties, responsibilities and workload.

21. Teacher performance appraisal
Teacher performance appraisals:
are used by the school management and education offices to improve the assignment of teachers
used to determine continuation of employment, transfer, promotion, demotion, further training, award or disciplinary measures.
guide the professional development and management of teachers in school improvement plans
performance evaluation results may be recorded on teacher record for future reference
6. Teacher performance appraisals
Teacher performance appraisals can be used by the school management and higher levels of the education administration to improve the assignment of teachers and to determine continuation of employment, transfer, promotion, demotion, further training, award or disciplinary measures. For the purpose of school improvement, it is important that such reports are systematically produced and kept at the school for reference in the management of teachers. Key performance evaluation results can also be added to the corresponding individual teacher record for future reference.

22. Inventories of school facilities
record the number of buildings, classrooms,
furniture, equipment and other physical facilities
monitor the conditions of facilities to determine maintenance work, repairs, replacements, constructions
assess the physical capacity of the school in relation to the number of students and school operations
may record the frequency of use of facilities to ensure full utilization.
7. Inventories of school facilities
The main purposes of keeping and updating inventories of school facilities are: (a) to record the
number of buildings, classrooms, furniture, equipment and other physical facilities; (b) to monitor the conditions of these facilities in order to determine maintenance work, repairs, replacements and new construction/acquisitions; (c) to assess the physical capacity of the school in relation to the number of students and the scale of school operations. If needed, such inventories can also include data on the frequency of use of specific facilities to ensure that they are being fully utilized.

23. Inventory of teaching/learning resources
Schools should:
keep inventories of teaching and learning resources from education authorities
encourage teachers to access and use the inventories throughout school year
ensure all students have learning materials, including textbooks
replenish teaching/learning materials that are in short supply
8. Inventory of teaching/learning resources
Schools that receive teaching and learning materials from central or provincial education authorities should keep inventories of these materials, and encourage teachers and students to access and use them throughout the school year. Such inventories will also enable the school to ensure that all students have the necessary learning materials including textbooks, and to replenish those teaching/learning materials that are, or will be, in short supply.

24. Financial summary School financial records:
must be maintained and regularly updated for management, reporting and auditing purposes.
should record daily expenditure in detailed school ledgers that can be summarized monthly, quarterly and yearly
provide financial summaries of school income and expenditure for use by the school management, and for reporting to education authorities
9. Financial summary
Financial records must be maintained and regularly updated for management, reporting and auditing purposes. Data about daily financial transactions are recorded in detailed school ledgers. Such school ledgers may however be too detailed to be use directly in monitoring and decision-making. Monthly, term and yearly financial summaries of school income and expenditure can be produced and used by the school management.

25. Benefits of School Records
School records help:
School principals
to assess the performance of the school
to make informed management decisions
to easily respond to school censuses
District and provincial education offices:
to identify problems and issues in schools
to provide guidance and support to schools
Ministry of Education:
to monitor and evaluate the performance of schools
to establish policies/plans to improve the operation of schools
Community:
to understand and support the functioning of the school
Benefits of SRMS
Systematic organized school record management helps:
• principals to assess the performance of the school, so they can make informed management decisions and easily respond to school censuses using reliable school data
• district and provincial education officers to identify problems and issues and to implement measures to provide more appropriate guidance and support to schools
• Ministry of Education to monitor and evaluate the performance of schools, and to establish policies and plans to improve the operation of schools
• community to understand and support the functioning of the school.

26. Better Records School records can be used to assess:
how resources are used to organize programmes and activities
how programmes and activities took place
what were the outcomes, issues and lessons learnt
Better Records
A good SRMS enables systematic and reliable recording and updating of data and information. Such a system embodies mechanisms, procedures, tools and practices to record data and to keep them in organized storage for easy access, retrieval and use. School records can, therefore, be used to assess: (a) how the school uses various resources to organize educational programmes and activities, (b) how such programmes and activities took place, and (c) what were the outcomes, issues and lessons learnt.

27. Better Results for all Schools and education authorities can use SRMS:
to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of school activities
to improve future policies, planning, coordination & management of educational activities
meets information needs of three main groups of stakeholders and beneficiaries:
Better Results
A functioning SRMS allows the school as well as education administrators at higher levels to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the school’s activities, and to improve future policies, planning, coordination and management of educational activities across the country. School records must therefore respond to the information needs of three main groups of stakeholders and beneficiaries

28. Exercise Discuss: What is the purpose of keeping school records?
What are the sources of information for school records?
What is the advantage of having a computerised School Records Management System?
What are the different types of school records?
What are the benefits of keeping school records?