IEPs function as a support service that helpspecial education students achieve their learning objectives. They are detailed outlines of lessons and goals designed around the needs of each student.

Although these learning environments have fewer students per teacher and more individualized attention for each student, special educators spend a large amount of their time and resources on collecting data to monitor progress and evaluate student achievement. From developing IEP documentation to analysis of student insights, special education is extremely data rich and its data can now be managed digitally – speeding up internal processes for educators, caregivers and parents.

Data collection on paper might have worked in the past, but education is changing and being able to analyze accurate insights of your students’ learning progress is key in helping them achieve their academic goals. It is now time to join the movement from manual to automated data collection for IEPs.

Some are still skeptical and, understandably, one of your first questions is going to be, “Why should I shift into automated data collection software?”

1. An instant and automated data collection system
No more making detailed notes and calculating by hand. Manually skimming through every row of data on a traditional spreadsheet is now a thing of the past. With special education data collection software, collated student data is filtered and graphed instantly, making it much easier for educators, caregivers and parents to evaluate student progress insights.

2. More time to focus on what really matters – the students
Every teacher wants more valuable time to work on the academic development of their students and using an automated data collection system can buy them just that.With consistent notifications for analysis updates, teachers can stay on top of all their students’ IEPs and make any alterations needed on the spot.

3. Avoid mistakes and aim for accuracy
Manually adding information and numbers to a spreadsheet means that you risk having errors in your data. Data is key and is extremely important to the success of students with learning disabilities, and it’s only fair that your students get the most out of their time with you. Put simply, academic professionals can confidently rely on automated data collection tools like Datability to ensure that they don’t miss anything when it comes to analyzing student progress and keeping them on the right track.

4. Helping students and the environment at the same time
Say goodbye to the mountain of student data and papers. Easy data collection for special educationeliminates the need for filling in forms for each individual student feedback with a pen and paper. Over time, these stacks of paper end up collecting dust in the corner and needing to be shredded, which isn’t very eco-friendly at all. Not only do special education data collection apps help you come up with better baseline data and more efficiently, but it also does our natural environment a favor. Win-win.

To sum it up, easy data collection in special education opens a path to accurate, hassle-free student progress analysis for educators.

Analyzing data can be difficult and students and teachers alike often struggle to make progress in all areas and skills. This is why having a clear overview of where students show their strengths and weaknesses, and making data-based decisions is key when it comes to increasing the chances of meeting student goals.It alsogives educators and parents a better idea of how their students adapt to different subjects and situations, and encourages them to make the most out oflearning results to best meet the needs of each student.