Tech 'Big Brother' for schools

There's ed tech about learning (see post just below), then there's ed tech about monitoring. The latter, it appears could be good news and bad news. An example of the tracking sort of technology is NetInterlink, which manages all the student data schools gather. It sounds like it could turn schools into social services' best friend. According to the Washington Post, "the program helps schools determine what resources are allocated to each student by tracking which teachers they work with, their grades and standardized test scores, their attendance records, and their financial status, which determines eligibility for subsidized meal programs." It links one school's data to others', so superintendents can get an overview on how well a district is showing up in No Child Left Behind Act terms. NetInterlink says the software was developed with a lot of practical teacher input. The 10-person software company is planning for rapid growth and take-up by US schools (from $2.2m in projected sales this year to $10m in five years).