Dr. Martin Ringstaff, director of Cleveland City SchoolsCLEVELAND, Tenn. -- The city schools system has a new software tool to assess how each school is performing instead of waiting for the state's annual report cards.
"I think Schoolnet is the key to get us where we need to get to, testing-wise," said Martin Ringstaff, schools director.
Schoolnet, a computer software program, was tested for the local system at E.L. Ross Elementary. The Cleveland Board of Education approved using it in all city schools, and personnel began doing so last week.
The program allows the school system to track student performance toward meeting state benchmarks. It allows parents and students to log in and see their individual testing, attendance, grade and discipline information, said Michael Kahrs, supervisor of data management.
"It allows teachers to see where their students are now instead of waiting until TCAP comes," he said. "It takes all the resources and puts them into one."
School board members, who will receive some training on how to use the program, will have access to general numbers but not individual student records, officials said.
Schoolnet is used across the nation, according to the company website. It was founded in 1998 to bring together school reform efforts and technology, the site states.