It’s Friday afternoon and your best data analyst just walked into your office and resigned. She’s leaving in two weeks. What do you do next?

This article was co-authored by Kathy Gosa.

At various different points, student data is collected on such things as attendance, disciplinary issues, assessments scores, and grades. How do we organize this wealth of information into something meaningful?

Picture this moment in world history. The year is 1200 B.C. Nations are independent of one another. Each nation has developed its own culture complete with customs, dress, and language. Even though nations exist next to each other, communication between them is difficult.

But have you found yourself wondering, what is interoperability anyway? You are not alone.

Many of the data systems at the local level are designed to support the administration of the day-to-day activities of the schools. While some of that data travels upstream to the state and federal government, for the most part, school staff are focused on what data can tell them about their day-to-day operations and about the instruction of children.

When enabled in a secure and privacy-protected environment, interoperability allows for more timely provision of data into the hands of students, parents, educators and administrators. It serves as the underlying foundation for meaningful advancements in the outcomes of all students.