Data Analytics & Reporting

Maine Adopts State-Level Data Platform

• By Joshua Bolkan
• 05/31/16

The Maine Department of Education has selected a partner to provide a state level student information and reporting system (SSIRS).

Following a competitive bidding process, the department chose the Synergy Education Platform from Edupoint Educational Systems "to aggregate data from all school administrative units (SAUs), using Ed-Fi to collect data on Maine's 180,000 students for state and federal reporting mandated by the state's Department of Education," according to a news release.

The solution will offer a central database connecting SAUs with the state's student data collection process in an effort to improve reporting functionality and the quality and access of student data. Districts without a local data system will be able to input data to the platform using any supported browser. "Student demographics, enrollment, health, assessment, CTE and special education data will be submitted by SAUs through the securely hosted Synergy State solution, where query and reporting tools will allow the state to access, display, and analyze data in real time," according to a news release.

As a result of the partnership, SAUs will also be able to license the synergy platform at pre-negotiated rates and without a bid process.

"Maine's student data represents one of the cornerstones for the Department of Education as we try to make informed decisions on improving educational results," said Brian Snow Maine's education data manager, in a prepared statement. "The Synergy product promises better control of the quality of information collected, which can then ensure better decisions."