The Integrity Canons
School districts use data in countless ways, and data–related
integrity issues arise
quite frequently. For example, in just one grading period, a school district dealt
with several concerns related to professional integrity:
- A parent who had requested that his child's directory information not be
disclosed by the school received a commercial advertisement that clearly
referenced data that had been collected as a part of the school registration
process.
- A school guidance counselor used a few isolated pieces of information to make
broad generalizations about a student's educational and career potential.
- A well-respected charitable organization requested access to confidential data to
help identify students who might benefit from its help and services.
- A local school received a high profile national award based on erroneous data
and faulty analysis.
- A school administrator wanted to manipulate data in a legal but misleading
manner to help improve the district's public image.
How should staff respond to these situations?
What principles should guide this decisionmaking?