School Management Systems
School management systems are software applications designed to manage various aspects of educational institutions, such as student registration, attendance, performance tracking, and online learning.
- There are various ways school management systems are used in educational institutions:
- Learner registration and attendance: Recording and tracking student enrolment and daily attendance
- Simplifies the registration process and ensures accurate record-keeping
- Recording learner performance: Monitoring and analysing student grades, test scores, and overall performance
- Helps teachers identify areas for improvement and track progress
- Computer aided learning: Facilitating online learning resources and activities for students
- Enhances the learning experience and promotes self-paced learning
- Advantages of using school management systems:
- Streamlined administration and record-keeping
- Improved communication between teachers, students, and parents - this can be automated
- Centralised access to information and resources
- Data-driven decision-making and insights for teachers and administrators
- Information is more up to date
- Information can be obtained quickly in an emergency
- Patterns of absence can be found quickly which helps to tackle truancy/lateness
Worked example
A school is setting up a new computerised system to manage many aspects of the school administration.
a. Describe how this system can be used to manage student registration and attendance.
[3]
3 of:
Student scans a card // teacher records the student as present on the computer system [1]
The system records the time of arrival [1]
The system sends the data to the school administration database [1]
The data is searched in the database [1]
If a student arrives after a certain time the student’s attendance record is flagged as late/absent [1]
Attendance/lateness records are automatically printed/sent to parents [1]
Letters/texts are automatically sent to parents to show the absenteeism/lateness of students [1]
Parents can log in into the system to check student’s attendance/lateness records [1]
b. Describe the benefits of using this system.
[2]
2 of:
The information is more up to date [1]
Information about the student can be obtained quickly after a fire/emergency [1]
Information regarding patterns of absence can be found quickly [1]
Helps to tackle truancy/lateness [1]
Parents can be informed automatically about patterns of lateness/attendance [1]
Lateness is entered consistently in the school [1]
Automatic lateness reports for the form tutor can be generated [1]
Accurate/up to date records if there is a fire [1]
Speeds up the process as attendance is not marked manually [1]
Exam Tip
- Relate your answer to the scenario given in the question
