A giant database of student information designed as a one-stop source for Montgomery County teachers and administrators has started to raise privacy concerns among students.
The database, called myMCPS, compiles everything from a student’s test scores and report cards to birth dates and demographic information. Similar systems are in the works across the country as technologies become available allowing districts to track progress over time and hone in on individual student needs.
But a recent editorial in Black and White, the student newspaper at Bethesda’s Walt Whitman High School, argues that “students have the right to keep their test scores, grades and GPAs private” until teachers obtain student consent.
Guidance counselors and the principal’s team may have valid reasons for keeping the information, the article said, such as monitoring college readiness or evaluating the progress of low-income students, but widespread use should be restricted.
“It’s unnecessary for teachers to have access to students … who they’ve never even taught,” the article said.
According to the school system, the database is secure, regulated and “the access and use is recorded by event logs.” Additionally, the federal law governing student privacy generally is interpreted to allow the sharing of student data within and among schools, for educational purposes.
According to privacy experts, that may mean students’ complaints have about as much sway as gripes over too much homework.
“Overall, I’m pleased that students are taking an active concern in protecting their personal information,” said Dave Yates, a professor of information studies at the University of Maryland. “However, as long as myMCPS is compliant with federal and state law, then it is probably a better way for the county school system to organize and access information than what they have had to date.”
Yates said maintaining security tends to be easier with one big database than with multiple smaller ones. He recommended the school system publish a list of which information is maintained, how it is used, how long it is kept, and who has access to it.
David Sobel, a lawyer for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said the student complaints may say more about students today than about privacy concerns.
“Maybe part of the Facebook phenomenon is that as long as young people are making disclosures about themselves, they’re less concerned. But when it’s a large institution, like a school, that’s where their concerns arise.”
