Information System and League Tables - Essay Example

Information System and League Tables The use of league tables in order to inform the public and consumers in their choices recently has been introduced and received scrutiny. While one cannot say that the interest has achieved controversial proportions, the case is that “league tables” has represented a growing policy trend that has the governmental agencies turning to information systems in the delivery of public service. This paper will explore this “league table” mechanism Background: Information System Information system (IS) emerged along with the development of computing and communications technology. It is a mechanism and in the technological terms, an application, by which information is collected, stored, in most cases analyzed, and provided for a group of users in an effective, organized and swift manner. Vasilecas (2005) supported this when he explained how the purpose of IS is to supply a group of users with information that they can use and that it implies a kind of contextualization for user-organizations wherein the IS takes the form a tool that works around the needs and requirements of the organization that employs it. (p18) Such contextualization explains how the entire information system cannot be bought as only the software and hardware – the platforms by which it operates can be sold. A specific example of an information system is the so-called decision table. This is one of the widely used IS because it is forms part in policymaking and strategy development for organizations. This IS type enables its users to distinguish two different attributes, condition attributes and decision attributes. (Mohammadian 2000, p103) In the context of a credit rating agency, for instance, decision table can be used as a credit scoring database that contains information about each applicant. These information can include age, gender, salary, education, and so forth. In the technical analysis of these variables, it is linked to the decision attributes with a series of statistical computation that eventually result in the data that are useful to the credit rating agency. What is clear out of this discussion is that IS is the culmination of the systematic application of technology – both those of computing, communication and science – in organizational processes and policymaking. It is crucial in the manner by which operations are streamlined, how learning can take place in a swift and effective manner and how tasks necessitating information can be efficiently be accomplished. With all of the benefits outlined, it became imperative for government agencies to use IS in their operations. The technology became crucial in the initiatives to build and implement the so-called e-government. Electronic Government Public administration is a complex and difficult process. Before a public service is delivered, it most likely has passed through several stages and agencies that composed the bureaucracy before it is delivered to the end user. Leslie Budd (2009) provided a specific benefit when she explained that e-government is primarily implemented in order to achieve economic efficiency, as information and communications technologies such as the IS can reduce the amount of bureaucratic procedures in public administrations. (p74) Traunmuller (2004), for his part, pointed out that bureaucracy imposes on its environment its rules, its operating modes and it transfers the management of complexity to the end user that is why, in the effort of governments to modernize, a transition towards end-user oriented approach is adopted. (p82) Crucial to this initiative is the solution for the problem of interoperability that characterizes bureaucracies. The issue about making public service easier to the public is a daunting task when services involve numerous agencies with their own respective mini bureaucracies. IS solved this dilemma. According to Traunmuller, this is achieved in the three stages that are crucial for the concept of e-government. To cite these stages: Anytime, Anywhere: the first of the process in electronic administration that involves the linking of different information held by different actors. IS solves this dilemma by providing the application by which the complex information system can be collected regardless of the number of sources involved. For example, there is the case of an information portal that links the information sources of various governmental agencies, without disrupting the structure of the various organizations involved. This stage makes it possible to improve collaboration between departments. Cooperation: the second stage in e-government that is concerned with the transition from information delivery to actual service delivery. IS becomes crucial in this stage because the operation follows a bidirectional flow and supposes action of both information supplier and recipient. For example, there is the case of a citizen who enters information in a database, including a request and a request for feedback such as when a mother registers her child at the school. Service delivery, wrote Traunmuller, “does not only make public whole or part of the information held by the administration. It also leads to the modification of the database itself,” and that “end user actions have direct impact on the information systems, thus calling for better cooperation (not only limited to exchange of information) among departments.” (p83) Coordination: the last stage in e-government process. It poses an inherent challenge for e-government administrators because of the sheer complexity of the multiple actors involved (i.e. national and local, public and private agencies, public and NGOs, and so forth). The diversity involved makes it difficult for administrators to know the different configurations for the numerous services and the numerous end users involved. IS is critical in this stage because it allows for a seamless interoperability between departments, administrations and information systems as well. (p82-83) The stages explained above in e-government underscore the daunting task of public service delivery in consideration of the intensely complex bureaucratic environment. The European Commission stated that e-government has enabled it to save 5% of its annual operating expenditures. (Budd, p74) In addition, people who are entitled to such services have different and equally complex requirements. Information systems address these dilemmas. It modernizes public administration and it, as Traunmuller explained, makes it possible “to analyze and classify the various observed initiatives and to highlight the conditions necessary for the achievement of the successive transformations.” More specifically, IS provides the means by which bureaucratic processes can be radically streamlined so that the objective of user-oriented public service can be achieved successfully. Information systems, as with other information and communication technologies, can provide economic benefits and operational efficiencies for governments. This is now demonstrated by the concept of the “league tables”. League Tables Simply put, “league tables” are school rankings based on the examination results of students classified according to schools. Often it is published side by side the National Standards for purposes of raising the accountability of schools especially to parents and other stakeholders that require information that league tables provide in their choices and decisions. From this basic accountability objective, the concept of league schools became currently characterized by other variables such as competition and the battle for excellence. According to Hazelkorn (2007), from a relatively benign benchmarking system, the league table has taken on increased prominence and has, in fact, elevated school classification to a higher and more commercial nature. (p1) This is the case in America where almost everything becomes a product and sold in the market. In this case, the information in the league tables become product attributes so that parents and students – the consumer of the educational product – can choose from among the brands, which for themselves are marketed according to specific attributes. One of the most important of these is performance, which can be primarily be determined by the scores in the league tables. Essentially, league tables are published examination results of students as part of raising the standards of education. It can supposedly provide information regarding the performance of a school and the efficacy of its curriculum, teachers and teaching approaches. This mechanism has been consistently under fire because of the argument that it provides a one-dimensional of school performance and educational attainment. One of the criticisms was cited by Groitl (2011), who wrote: The value of good teaching is not taken into consideration, because the current tables are only based on exam results. In addition to good teaching methods, a precise selection of a schools intake can also lead to good exam results… There are some schools with a much broader academic spectrum of ability than others and additionally there are always a few pupils underachieving, caused by different sources of pressure during the exams. (p7) The criticisms focus on the argument that a school’s performance should not be merely audited by exam results – that there are numerous other variables that must be taken into consideration in order to really determine the academic attainment of students under specific institutions. Indeed, a study undertaken by Croxford (1999) revealed that school performance assessment model can only be effective and reflective of the true academic state and performance if the following variables are taken into account: individual pupil-level data, not average figures per school; several measures of pupil intake, especially prior attainment, sex, socio-economic status (SES) and first language; school characteristics including school size and socio-economic context; varied measures of the outcomes of schooling; statistical techniques which go beyond current methods to take account of differences in school size, and other potential biases in the data; techniques which examine differences in progress of different groups of pupils, such as those of high and low prior attainment. (Croxford 1999) These variables underscore how league tables are really misrepresenting school performance and misleading the public in their examination of the right and effective institutions for their students. This is unfortunate because the league table and its purpose is an excellent mechanism to benchmark school performance and raise their accountability and provide useful information so the public can choose effective educational institutions for their children. The challenge, however, is not insurmountable. The current league system is, unarguably, one-dimensional with its obsession for examination scores. Many believe that there are more variables, some of these are cited previously, that are involved in order to really coherently and correctly depict academic performance. So the solution is simple, integrate these variables to the exam result in a comprehensive and holistic model of academic audit. It is in this area wherein information systems become crucial. As has been explained previously, IS has the capability to collect information, process, organize and analyze them in order to provide correct information to end users. This has been demonstrated in the case of e-government. The bureaucratic hurdles and the problem of interoperability were effectively addressed. This capability can also be harnessed in collecting the numerous and multi-dimensional factors and elements that are necessary to depict the real score in academic performance among schools. A closer model would be the decision table cited by this paper, which significantly helps credit ratings agency in their accurate depictions of credit scores. Exam results, in addition to school size, socio-economic factors, teaching techniques, among other school characteristics can effectively be collected and analyzed so that the accurate academic picture and school performance are depicted. League tables are important because it informs stakeholders. It also underpins the mechanism of competition, which is a positive factor in achieving educational excellence. However, it can have adverse impact if the information it provides is faulty or insufficient. With IS, other variables and school characteristics can easily be integrated in the audit and benchmarking process. The end result will enable stakeholders to decide effectively: the policymakers and the educational authorities for quality assurance; the academic institution’s administration; and, the parents who need to be informed in their choice of schools for their children. Conclusion Information system is beneficial for any organization, individuals and the policymakers. It allows for the systematic application of technology so that information are properly, comprehensively and swiftly collected and processed so that the correct data can be used. Its capability has been demonstrated in the successful implementation of e-government. It, therefore, offers an opportunity in the area of the league tables, which currently is plagued by numerous deficiencies. Through IS, league tables can include other school characteristics and variables in order to achieve a credible and correct depiction of academic performance. References Budd, L 2009, e-Governance: managing or governing? Taylor and Francis, New York. Croxford, L 1999, League Tables - Who Needs Them? Center for Educational Sociology. Available from: [6 December 2011]. Groitl, S 2011, School League Tables - Advantages, Disadvantages and the Future Development. GRIN Verlag, Norderstedt. Hazelkorn, E 2007, "The Impact of League Tables and Ranking Systems on Higher Education Decision Making," Higher Education Management and Policy, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 1-24. Mohammadian, M 2000, Advances in intelligent systems: theory and applications. IOS Press, Amsterdam. Traunmuller, R 2004, Electronic government: third international conference, EGOV 2004, Zaragoza, Spain, August 30-September 3, 2004 : proceedings, Volume 3. Springer, Berlin. Vasilecas, O 2005, Information systems development: advances in theory, practice, and education. Springer, Berlin. Read More