New Survey Shows Parents Overwhelmingly Support Using Student Data to Improve Education

The Future of Privacy Forum released new survey data showing that a majority of parents support using student data to improve education. While support for using data in the classroom is strong, parents remain concerned about the level of student data privacy and security in U.S. K-12 schools. The survey, which was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of Future of Privacy Forum from March 26 -- April 2, 2015, included 1,002 parents in the United States with children between the ages 0-17 (of which 672 have children in public school grades K-12). According to the survey, most parents (71 percent) say their child uses technology provided by school and over half (58 percent) say they have used school-related technology. A majority of parents (76 percent) understand what data are being collected and how they are used.

The results here demonstrate a strong baseline of knowledge and communication between schools and parents. In general, parents are very aware of, engaged with, and concerned about technology and student data use in schools. While they are eager for the individual learning benefits that educational data can provide, parents are also concerned about the security of their child’s personal information. Educators, education service providers, advocates, and policymakers should embrace the opportunity to work with parents as partners in addressing these issues.