This is part 3 of our active consent series.
What This Post Explores:
Trust. Trust in the data and the institutions collecting the data is important if you are gathering data from students. With all of the data breaches and widespread data collection happening frequently, having a data security plan and knowing how to communicate that security is important to gathering that active consent. The protection of student data has become a paramount concern for educational institutions and parents. At the same time, the move to active parental consent will place an even greater need to disseminate information on data collection methodology and use. ISA Data takes the protection of student data seriously. We have implemented robust measures to ensure that student data are safeguarded at every step of the survey, from permission forms to data collection, analysis and reporting. In this post, we discuss five ways ISA Data protects student data throughout the life of a student survey:
- How Data Are Collected
- How Student Information Is Kept Confidential
- Making Data Secure
- Valid and Reliable Data to Support Your Goals
1. How Data Are Collected
ISA Data uses a systematic and secure approach to data collection to ensure that student information is gathered responsibly and ethically.
Informed Parents.
As mentioned in Posts 1 and 2 in this series, before any data are collected, students and their guardians are informed about the nature of the data being gathered, the purpose for its collection, and how it will be used. Regardless of whether active or passive consent approach is used, the information disseminated to parents / guardians ensures that consent is obtained voluntarily and with full understanding.
Collection Process.
Parents, whether using active or passive consent, and administrators will want to know more about the data collection process. The ISA Data collection step-by-step approach includes:
- Student survey collection tools. Students are provided with either a paper form (machine readable, scantron) or a web-link to the same survey on a computer.
- Data minimization. ISA Data follows the principle of data minimization, which means that only the data necessary for the specific, legitimate purposes determined by your school district are collected. This reduces the risk of unnecessary exposure of student information.
- Where the data go. Data from each student survey completed (paper or digital) are transferred to ISA Data, an independently owned organization with more than 40 years of experience. We have never and will never sell any data records to third parties.
2. How Student Information Is Kept Confidential
Anonymity is a cornerstones of data protection at ISA Data. Several measures are in place to protect student information and maintain the anonymity of the data:
Anonymous Data
All student surveys are anonymous; data are never linked to an individual student. This means that there is no identifiable information in the survey responses, truly protecting the confidentiality of students. Data reports will group student data for analysis to determine trends and comparisons to other groups of students or past years’ data. To further protect anonymity, if there are less than 10 respondents for a particular question, data from that question will be eliminated in analysis and reporting.
3. Making Data Secure
Security is a critical aspect of protecting student data. ISA Data, in its more than 40 years of collecting student data, has never experienced a data breach. It has implemented multiple layers of security measures to safeguard data from unauthorized access, breaches, and other threats:
Data Encryption
All student data are encrypted both at rest and in transit. Encryption ensures that even if data is intercepted or accessed without authorization, it cannot be read or used; the data would be meaningless.
Firewalls and Secure Servers
ISA Data utilizes advanced firewalls to monitor and protect its network. These systems detect and respond to potential security threats in real-time, preventing breaches before they occur. Furthermore, student data are stored on secure servers that are protected by multiple layers of physical and digital security. Access to these servers is tightly controlled and monitored.
Regular Security Updates
The IT infrastructure at ISA Data is regularly updated to protect against emerging security threats. This includes applying security patches, updating software, and conducting vulnerability assessments.
4. Where Student Data Will Be Used
Responsible data usage is essential to maintaining trust and ensuring that student data are not misused. The data collected from students are not used for any other purpose than to provide school leaders the best information that can be provided to make informed decisions. In rare cases, and with permission of the customer, aggregated, location de-identified data may be used for educational and research purposes.
Defined Purposes
For ISA Data surveys, the main purpose of the survey is to assess student behaviors to determine programming and support services needed to maintain a healthy learning environment. Data from students’ surveys are analyzed and built into reports for administrators and educators to use in the development and maintenance of programs and services at your schools. Data and narrative reports are made available to educators mainly through password-protected online portals or, in smaller scale surveys, through the distribution of digital files (PDFs), to administrators and educators tasked with program development, services, and raising funds to support student programming.
Transparency
Through letters or emails, students and their parents/guardians are kept informed about how their data are being used. Parents/guardians are invited to learn more about the survey (e.g., review the survey instrument and obtain reports of the data collected) through online information or through their school’s administrative offices. School administrators are encouraged to provide parents/guardians with regular updates and reports to ensure that there is transparency in data collection and usage practices. More on communicating about the survey in our upcoming Post 4: How to Develop a Communication Plan to Support Your Drug Prevention Goals.
5. Valid and Reliable Data to Support Your Goals
Maintaining the integrity of student data is crucial for its validity and reliability. With today’s scrutiny of data statistics, funders, administrators and parents will want to know that the reports on student behaviors are based on reliable, trustworthy data. Strategies to ensure an accurate, representative dataset include:
Data Quality Checks
Regular data quality checks are conducted to identify and correct errors, inconsistencies, and inaccuracies in student data. Processes are in place to verify the authenticity of the information provided by students and to correct any discrepancies promptly. For example, survey forms that are returned with discrepant answers (e.g., a student marks his age as 11 and his grade level as grade 12) are eliminated from the data pool. This ensures that the dataset includes only honest data.
Data Reliability and Validity
Over the years, ISA Data has conducted several research studies to confirm the validity of its data. To do so, it compares its survey findings to surveys conducted on a national level (e.g., the NIDA student drug survey). In each of these research studies, the similarity of findings between the reports of NIDA and ISA Data supports the validity of the data collected through the ISA Data questionnaires and its associated survey procedures.
Reliability of the data has been assessed by utilizing a test-retest procedure. In these studies, a sample group of students from various US locations agrees to participate by responding to the questionnaire in two different time periods, one week apart. Using three standard statistical measures for validity and consistency, the reliability indices showed that the items of the questionnaire produced reasonable and acceptable consistency of responses.
Backup and Recovery
ISA has robust backup and recovery processes in place to protect against data loss. Regular backups are performed multiple times a day, and data recovery procedures are continually tested to ensure that data can be restored in the event of a loss.
Wrap-Up
Armed with information about the ISA Data comprehensive approach used to protect student data, you will be better equipped to answer questions from parents or others about conducting the ISA Data Survey or other surveys in the ISA Data survey suite. By focusing on secure data collection, maintaining confidentiality, and upholding data integrity, ISA Data is committed to safeguarding your student information. With these measures, you will not only protect the privacy and security of your students, but you will also earn trust and confidence in your school’s data handling practices.
In case you missed them:
Focus on Active Consent and How it Affects your Data Collection? (Part 1)
