Education Management Information SystemProject Status Report

Prepared for the Knox County Board of Education

by Gary Spencer

7 December 2009

The Project

• Knox County Schools and the Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership are working together to design, develop, and implement an Education Management Information System that will enable district employees to make “knowledge-based” rather than “data-free” decisions.

• The goal of the project is to use current technology and to adopt proven education management practices to transform the masses of data the district routinely collects into actionable knowledge.

• Targeted practices range from those used to monitor and manage district-wide, school level, and program financial and non-financial resources toindividualized instruction for each of the district’s 56,000 students.

• The “backbone” of the EMIS is a data-warehouse designed to hold 15 years of data.

7 December 2009 1 Prepared by: Gary Spencer

The Project Time Line

• January – December 2007: KCS and KACP initiated dialogue and

developed a “strategic partnership” type relationship.

• January – April 2008: KACP enlisted aid of UTK-MBA program to evaluate

KCS need. Board of Education endorsed and authorized the project.

• April – November 2008: KCS source systems reviewed and documented.

• August 2008 – February 2009: Data warehouse procurement process.

• December 2008: Dr. McIntyre’s vision published.

• June 2009: Five year strategic plan adopted.

• January 2009 – September 2010: Data warehouse construction period

and development of tools to support education management.

7 December 2009 2 Prepared by: Gary Spencer

Data Warehouse Construction Approach

• Locate and analyze electronic data stored in source system files.

• “Map” the electronic data to storage locations in the data warehouse.

• Organize the work in phases, during which we extract defined sets of data

from source systems; then transform and copy the data to the warehouse

using “business rules.”

• Where feasible, load four years of historical data and then update the

warehouse nightly based on changes or additions made during the current

academic year.

• Each phase includes a “shake down” period for quality assurance.

7 December 2009 3 Prepared by: Gary Spencer

Phase I and II “Shake Down” Periodjust concluded phase

• Data loaded to the warehouse (approximately 40 million records)–

– Demographics: Students, teachers, principals, and administrators.

– Classes: Student and teacher schedules.

– Attendance: Daily and period.

– Assessments: TCAP, Explore, Plan, ACT, and Gates MacGinitie.

• Four years of history for most data.

• Piloting in 17 schools with more than 100 “lead users.”

• Lead Users: Principals, assistant principals, and school counselors.

7 December 2009 4 Prepared by: Gary Spencer

Current Data Discovery In Processest. completion – February 2010

• Graduation and withdrawal related data–

– Ninth grade cohort designation.

– Diploma type or withdrawal code.

– Graduation credits earned.

• Course grades and grade point average.

• Mobility – detail and summary.

• Additional assessments–

– Gateway and End of Course exam scores.

– TCAP objective level data and 5th, 8th, and 11th grade writing exams.

– Advance Placement exam scores.

7 December 2009 5 Prepared by: Gary Spencer

Data to be Loaded in Later Project Phasesthrough September 2010

• Sub-sets of student classification–

– Special education.

– Limited English proficiency.

– Discipline – Detail and summary.

• Teachers—

– Attendance.

– Certification.

• School level cost management.

• Programs.

• Extra-curricular activities.

7 December 2009 6 Prepared by: Gary Spencer

How the System Will be Used

• Dashboard Indicators

– Quick high-level view.

– With drill down capability.

• Queries

– Standard.

– Ad hoc.

• Reports

– Static.

– Dynamic.

7 December 2009 7 Prepared by: Gary Spencer

7 December 2009 8 Prepared by: Gary Spencer

Columns: TCAP.Proficiency Level:Math (Student:2008-2009); Rows: TCAP.Proficiency Level:Math (Student:2007-2008);

Background: Count of Student [Linked]; All Time; Results; Below Proficient Proficient Advanced All

Below Proficient 992 734 17 1,752Proficient 689 5,331 1,393 7,422Advanced 15 1,483 8,423 9,922All 1,706 7,566 9,838 19,129

Trouble!

Querying the DataSelecting a Cohort – Matching Over Time

Same Students

7 December 2009 9 Prepared by: Gary Spencer

A Dynamic Report

7 December 2009 10 Prepared by: Gary Spencer

Diffusion to Other Users

Expand the user network from the “lead user” piloting schools.

Recruit a core user group at each of the remaining schools.

Focus initially on high schools, then middle, followed by elementary.

In-school user network expansion in collaboration and in cooperation with each school principal.

Support for the teams implementing the strategic plan.

“Groundbreaking” ceremony on December 11 at Gresham.

7 December 2009 11 Prepared by: Gary Spencer