Can data-driven education be responsible, lawful and rights-respecting?

The volume and types of data, as well as the purposes of data processing in educational contexts, have expanded well beyond the initial purposes of evaluating schools’ performance, education planning and funding allocation, especially with the increased EdTech use in schools. Processing children’s education data promises a broad range of benefits that could advance children’s best interests provided that data are processed in a responsible, rights-respecting way that is proportionate to the risks and benefits. How can this be done, while also mitigating problems that can arise from such processing? And what level of agency should children, their parents and schools have in determining the scope and purposes of data processing in education?