Illinois School District Implements Data Warehouse for Analytics -- THE Journal

Data and Analytics

Illinois School District Implements Data Warehouse for Analytics

By Leila Meyer
02/12/14

Community Unit School District 308 in Illinois has implemented a data warehouse solution for data management, analytics and reports.

The district set a goal three years ago to consolidate its disparate databases into a data warehouse so it could better use the information to understand the effect of variables on student achievement. The district selected performance management solution provider, DecisionEd.

According to information on the company's site, DecisionEd is designed to bring quantitative business decision-making tools, such as the Kimball methodology and star schema models, to K-12 education. The solution features data dashboards, reports, alerts, scorecards, metrics and analytics. The data management tools let the district combine its various databases into a unified system to provide a district-wide view of student, school, program and district performance, so administrators and faculty can analyze all of the information and pinpoint factors that affect student achievement. They can then open an on-screen dashboard or generate reports to view the information using the integrated IBM Cognos dashboard and reporting tool.

"The data warehouse tool will give the district the ability to measure the impact of our decisions and actions on the success of our students," said Brenda M. Dixon, director of assessment, data and accountability, in a prepared statement. "It will also enable administrators to analyze data and recognize student needs, determine a course of action to meet those needs, implement the resulting strategies and monitor results."

Community Unit School District 308 serves nearly 18,000 students and employs more than 2,000 staff, teachers and administrators in the communities of Aurora, Joliet, Montgomery, Oswego, Plainfield and Yorkville, IL.

About the Author

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

E-Mail this page

Printable Format

Featured

New OpenAI Agent Turns ChatGPT into a Research Analyst

OpenAI has unveiled a new "Deep Research" feature that enhances ChatGPT with the capabilities of a "research analyst" that automates time-consuming research by retrieving, analyzing, and synthesizing online information.
What AI Gets Right and How It Will Be Used in the Year Ahead

AI has tremendous potential to do good in education while honoring and upholding the essential role of teachers. However, its success will depend on how we choose to use it.
New Platform Combines Content Filtering, Classroom Management, Device Management Tools

Ed tech, remote access, and cybersecurity solution provider Ativion has introduced StudentKeeper, an all-in-one platform that encompasses digital safety management, filtering, and reporting tools for supporting and protecting students.
Report Highlights Security Concerns of Open Source AI

In these days of rampant ransomware and other cybersecurity exploits, security is paramount to both proprietary and open source AI approaches — and here the open source movement might be susceptible to some inherent drawbacks, such as use of possibly insecure code from unknown sources.