(Cross posted at
"For Our Future".)
Sometime next week, the Department of Education will introduce a proposal for a national database to track student achievement. The database will compile statistics about financial aid, graduation rates, and a variety of other formally private information. The Bush Administration argues that this database will help improve higher education.
I have my doubts. I am extremely suspicious of any program that would expand the amount of information being collected about college students. Why does President Bush need to know what classes I took freshman year? The entire proposal seems a bit Orwellian for my taste. Federal bureaucrats shouldn't have access to personal records.
There are also the obvious concerns about privacy and security. This type of database would undoubtedly be a major target for hackers. If the information was somehow leaked, it would be one of the biggest revelations of personal data in recent history. I'm sure employers would love to see the complete student records of potential hires.
Of course, there are arguments in favor of the database. Billions of dollars are pumped into colleges and universities by the federal government every year. A tracking system could ensure some kind of accountability. However, there is already a great deal of information tracked by the government--it's just not centralized in a national database.
I will be writing more about the database in the coming weeks. Right now, I'm just trying to collect news stories about the proposal. I've been surprised at the lack of media coverage. There have been a number of articles in the educational press, but almost nothing in the mainstream media. The potential impact of this database could be huge, so it's fairly surprising to see such limited press coverage.