EDUCATION AND MANPOWER BUREAU CIRCULAR MEMORANDUM NO. 237/2005
From: Secretary for Education and Manpower Ref: EMB(QA/Ind)/PI/1/1(4)
Date: 24 October 2005
___________________________________________________________________________
To: Heads of all government and aided primary, secondary and special schools (including caput schools and schools under the Direct Subsidy Scheme)
Launch of the E-platform for School Development and Accountability (ESDA)
Summary
The purpose of this circular memorandum is to announce that the E-platform for School Development and Accountability (ESDA), which aims to facilitate schools’
collection and management of school data in conducting self-evaluation, will be launched in November 2005 and invite school personnel to attend a seminar on using data for school development.
Details
2. Through self-evaluation under the School Development and Accountability framework, schools have used more data in driving their school development. For enhancement purpose, the Education and Manpower Bureau has developed the E-platform for School Development and Accountability (ESDA) to further promote data-driven school self-evaluation. ESDA is a one-stop solution designed to expedite schools’ collection and management of school data in preparation for school self-evaluation and External School Review and subsequently cut down on teachers’
workload. Schools can access via ESDA Key Performance Measures (KPM) reference/norm data released by our Bureau, with which schools can have a better grasp of their developmental trail and they can formulate their development plans accordingly.
Please refer to Appendix I for details.
3. ESDA will be launched on 21 November 2005. Schools can access and download the ESDA software and its manuals via the KPM website of EMB (http://svais.emb.gov.hk/kpmweb/eng/index.htm). A unique registration key is needed to activate the functions of ESDA after its installation. The registration key will be issued to each school electronically via the Communication and Delivery System on 21 November 2005.
4. The Quality Assurance Division will organize 3 identical seminars on using data for school development between 14 and 16 November 2005. In addition to the key features of ESDA, such as how to administer online stakeholder survey and APASO, and manage KPM data for school self-evaluation and External School Review, speakers will also brief participants on the latest development of KPM and share with them some essential skills to make sense of school data. You are cordially invited to nominate
teachers of your school to attend. For details, please refer to the EMB Training Calendar course ID QAD020050067 and QAD020050071 for secondary schools and primary/special schools respectively.
5. The Quality Assurance Division will provide a series of measures to support schools in using ESDA for school development. They include the operation of an enquiry hotline (Tel No. 2892 6577), provision of training workshops starting from December 2005 and demonstration sessions on demand from schools. Useful information about ESDA will also be available on the website of KPM from 21 November 2005 onwards.
Enquiry
6. Enquiries concerning the content of this circular memorandum can be directed to the Indicators Section, Quality Assurance Division at 2892 6540 and 2892 6577.
Andrew C S POON
for Secretary for Education and Manpower
cc Head of Sections – for information
Appendix I Information Sheet
E-Platform for School Development & Accountability (ESDA) Background
Under the School Development and Accountability framework, schools are requested to use Key Performance Measures (KPM) and school-based data to support the data-driven and evidence evidence-based mode of school self-evaluation. EMB also makes reference to these data when conducting External School Review.
ESDA is a web-based application built on the Self Evaluation Platform (SEP) on Information Technology in Education (ITEd) for Schools, which is a tool provided by EMB in 2005 for schools to conduct ITEd-related and school-based questionnaire surveys.
Objectives
ESDA is designed to enhance schools’ efficiency in collecting and managing school data, with a view to further promoting data-driven School Self-evaluation (SSE) and School Development and Accountability. Schools can obtain Key Performance Measures (KPM) reference/norm data via ESDA and at the same time submit data and documents to EMB for External School Review.
Key Features
A one-stop solution for schools to collect and manage self-evaluation data, with features to enhance efficiency and reduce teachers’ workload in connection with data collection and reporting.
Generation of reports and charts with integration of reference data and norms for comparison.
A secure channel for schools to obtain reference/norm data of KPM and submit data and documents to EMB for External School Review.
Simple system requirements.
To administer online Assessment Programme for Affective & Social Outcomes (APASO)
To administer online stakeholder surveys for teachers, students, parents &
specialists
To administer school- based questionnaire surveys (using SEP)
To integrate WebSAMs data for KPM items (e.g KPM1, KPM 7, KPM 23, etc.)
To maintain records of KPM data across years to generate trend reports
To obtain reference/
norm data of KPM and submit data and documents related to ESR (via CDS)
To produce reports and charts for reporting with the integration of reference/norm data
Using ESDA for External School Review (ESR)
All schools are expected to install ESDA and make the best use of it to support school self-evaluation and in preparation for ESR.
Schools can submit information related to ESR to EMB, including KPM data and the school self-assessment report.
Schools scheduled for ESR in the second half of 2005/06 school year are encouraged to prepare and submit the required information to EMB using ESDA. Workshops will be organized for these schools in December 2005.
Starting from 2006/07 school year, schools are required to submit the required information related to ESR to EMB using ESDA.
System Requirements
Windows NT/ 2000/XP; or Linux
Download & Installation
Schools can download ESDA and its manuals from the KPM website of EMB from 21.11.2005 onwards.
KPM Website
http://svais.emb.gov.hk/kpmweb/eng/index.htm
A registration key is needed to activate the functions of ESDA. The registration key will be sent to each school electronically via the Communication and Delivery System.
As ESDA is built on the Self-Evaluation Platform, schools installed with ESDA can also use the functions of the Self-Evaluation Platform to conduct ITEd-related and school-based surveys as usual.
Enquiry
Indicators Section: 2892 6577 [email protected]
Quality Assurance Division, Education and Manpower Bureau October 2005
