Georgia District Implements Predictive Analytics To Identify At-Risk Students -- THE Journal

Data and Analytics

Georgia District Implements Predictive Analytics To Identify At-Risk Students

By Leila Meyer
10/30/12

Gwinnett County Public Schools in Georgia is implementing predictive analytics software with the goal of improving student performance and achievement. The new software is part of the district's new digital curriculum and instruction initiative, called eCLASS.

The eCLASS initiative uses an integrated solution of IBM Cognos software and IBM SPSS predictive modeling and analytics software. The combined solution is intended to help educators in the district "guide their interactions with students to improve early intervention and assist overall student achievement," according to IBM.

The school district had already been working with IBM to collect, integrate, and analyze student data. Now, with the launch of eCLASS, the district is building on that foundation "to get 'smarter' about using analytics to provide better insight to student needs," said Scott Futrell, chief information officer for the school district, in a prepared statement.

According to Futrell, the district is now using all of the key components of the IBM Smarter Education strategy. "Together with Gwinnett's existing student applications and learning management solution, we are positioned to use analytics to quickly recognize students who need help, identify potential interventions, and ultimately track student success over time," added Futrell.

Key features of IBM's Smarter Education Solution include:

Integration of data from multiple sources to provide students and administrators with insight into student performance and achievement;
Establishment and coordination of early-warning systems for at-risk students;
Support for collaborative learning communities to help teachers, students, parents, and specialists work together to identify and implement instructional intervention plans; and
Data aggregation and analytics to identify intervention and program efficacy.

Gwinnett County Public Schools is located in the metro Atlanta area and is the largest school system in Georgia. It operates over 120 schools and serves approximately 160,000 students.

Further information about IBM's Smarter Education Solution is available on IBM's site.

In related news, IBM is delivering its Smarter Education reference architecture, which was originally announced in April. The architecture is "built on open, industry standards to enable a multi-provider, interoperable environment," according to the company.

About the Author

Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].

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