There was a time when educators would look to progress reports or semester grades to gain insight into a student's abilities.

But today's technology is adding a new sophistication.

The Gainesville City Schools board will get a snapshot of techniques the district uses to track student progress and current data collection systems at today's work session, Gainesville Superintendent Merrianne Dyer said.

Last year, the district launched a Web-based data management system that teachers use on a daily basis, Dyer said.

It combines different sets of information such as demographics, grades and daily classroom assessments given by teachers.

Another system the board will examine is the State Longitudinal Data System from the Georgia Department of Education. The program has been implemented across most of the state, including Gainesville.

The SLDS currently has four years of Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests data, and will allow schools and teachers to follow a student's work throughout their entire education career.

According to the district's website, "An advantage of the SLDS is that it is statewide, so when a student enrolls in our system from another Georgia school system, all his or her past data is immediately available to teachers to see how that student has performed to that point."

A big topic of discussion today could be the "value-added assessment," which measures a student's progress, or growth in learning over time, Dyer said. Gainesville is currently testing a system.

Value-added measures will also be used for an initiative that links teacher pay to student performance. Teacher evaluations would be based on students' scores on standardized tests.

The compensation model was one of the criteria to qualify for Race to the Top funds from the federal government, which Georgia accepted last year. About $400 million was shared among the 20 school systems that opted to accept the money, including Gainesville and Hall County schools.