A new report shows that the Wyoming Department of Education data collection and processing arm is needs serious improvements.
The nonprofit RTI International told the Legislature’s Joint Education Committee today/Monday, that the department’s Information Management unit has an incomplete strategic plan, has weak technology standards, and has an ineffective organizational structure. Education Committee Co-Chair Matt Teeters says the I-M unit has lost a number of important staff members in recent years, and it’s crippling the department’s ability to determine school performance, resources and spending.
“Data really is the lifeblood of the Department of Education. They’re primarily a compliance agency, and they primarily collect information. And if we don’t the ability to do that, we don’t have the ability to function properly.”
Teeters supports RTI’s recommendation to create three new positions immediately -- a service manager, a data architect, and a statistician -- and hire temporary consultants to catch up on the department’s back log of reports. The Committee is also asking Governor Matt Mead to put off a plan to move positions from the Wyoming Department of Education’s Information Management Unit.