ANSWER:

The elementary and middle school instructional data assistant (IDA) positions provide support with the collection, analysis, and dissemination of instructional data. The IDA extracts data from system-wide databases preparing reports for use by teachers and administrators. School administrators and teachers use data regularly to monitor student performance, identify areas of need, and adapt instruction.

IDA duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Inputs, downloads, organizes, and analyzes student data used for instructional purposes using shared accountability and local school databases.
• Develops and prints reports on student data.
• Suggests relationships between data trends, curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
• Responds to data requests from administrators and teachers.
• Designs and conducts presentations of data and associated data analysis to school, school system, and community groups.
• Maintains and updates class lists and rosters, and assists with sectioning of students. (elementary schools only)
• Provides support with testing administration, especially Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) testing.

The reduction or elimination of IDA positions would significantly impact the workload of school administrators and teachers who would need to assume full responsibility for collecting, organizing, and analyzing data for testing administration. Sectioning of students would need to be performed by school secretaries.

A request for staffing data from surrounding school systems was made and to date only Fairfax County Public Schools has provided information. Fairfax County Public Schools does not staff for instructional data positions. However, they do allocate funds to pay temporary part-time salaries to employees to assist with testing. Elementary schools with less than 600 students are allocated $3,500 while schools with greater than 600 students are allocated $5,000. Each middle school is allocated $9,200 for school testing requirements.

The budget savings as a result of eliminating the 89.125 elementary school IDA positions, including employee benefits is $4,285,397. The budget savings as a result of eliminating the 29.8 middle school IDA positions, including employee benefits is $1,251,987.