July 2004 — SETDA
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Virginia: Data Warehouse Helps Hanover County Public Schools Raise Student Achiev
In Virginia, school districts receive a composite score and individual skills-tested scores for each student. An example of this would be the composite score for the fifth-grade math test and its skills of computation and estimation; measurement and geometry; probability and statistics; patterns, functions and algebra; and number sense scores. With the new data warehouse, a school principal can generate a report in minutes that will produce averages, as well as minimum and maximum scores for the composite and the five categories. In addition, a simple drag of the mouse can enhance this report so that it can be examined by gender, soci'economic background, disability or any other indicator in the database. The data warehouse technology also allows schools to provide customized curricula according to the skill level of the students.
Dr. Carol Cash, principal of Hanover High School, provides her algebra II teachers with a roster of their students that includes not only their algebra I composite scores, but also all of the students' state test scores broken down by skill. This gives the algebra II teachers a good indication of the skill level of each student in the class. Dr. Cash is able to generate these reports in about 10 minutes. Since the warehouse contains data from 1999 to the present, administrators can look at five-year comparisons, in graph form, of all their standardized tests. They also can compare their school to others in the district in a matter of seconds. These school profiles are delivered to the principals' desks each morning. This one report provides the administrator with information on student attendance, discipline and schedules. It also highlights students who need special attention, which helps avoid problems before they occur.
Keys to Success
The keys to the success of IDSS have been the support received from school boards and superintendents, a vigorous and ongoing training program, data stewards who review data in their area of responsibility, and a Web site that provides administrators a one-stop location to get key reports.
This summer, the Virginia Department of Education will kick off its Educational Information Management System (EIMS), a statewide data warehouse that will greatly assist school districts with NCLB reporting requirements. When EIMS is fully implemented, Virginia administrators will leave their hunter heritage behind and move to a new higher-level reflection. And with reflection comes greater educational reform and higher student achievement.
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