And even more updates...

Yes, it's a busy time of year on the data front! A few more updates are available related to data collection, data resources, and data communication:

• The 2010-2011 Data Collection Schedule has been posted for SIMS, EPIMS, and the new SCS (Student Course Schedule) data collection. I hope to see some of our region's district data managers at the Data Collection Information Session this Friday morning in Duxbury.
  
• The Department has launched a new Parent/Guardian MCAS Information Page.
  
• The DART (District Analysis and Review) Tool has been updated to include 2010 data, and a variety of improvements have been made based on user feedback.

Engaging Staff in MCAS Data Exploration

I recently worked with data team members at the Duval Elementary School in Whitman, who were looking for an activity to get staff engaged in exploring the 2010 MCAS data. Team members had all been to meetings where either (a) an administrator gives a big long data presentation or (b) each teacher is given a large packet of data without a whole lot of guidance on how to use it. This team wanted something different, and so we came up with an activity which engages staff in asking questions about data in a manageable way. (The activity has its beginnings in an activity that is part of the Data Warehouse 101 curriculum.)

The activity starts with teams of teachers exploring the R-406 report (School Standards Summary Report) for a particular test. They are asked to answer the question, "Now that you've seen this report, what else do you want to know?" and given time to generate clarifying questions which direct further inquiry.

I'm including the activity materials which contain more details and information.

• Facilitator Notes


• Guiding Worksheet


• Team Recorder Sheet

This is a somewhat open-ended activity, but can be modified to suit your group's needs. Please do send along your feedback and don't hesitate to contact me if you need additional information.

Data Warehouse Update Release Notes

There is a new set of Data Warehouse release notes available from the Data Warehouse Welcome page to accompany the recent 2010 data release. Rather than repeat all the information here, I'll just list the topics covered in the notes and those who are interested can log in to the Data Warehouse and read more.

• SGPs Added to Student Reports
• Test Items Not Yet Available in HTML
• Changes to Reflect New Curriculum Frameworks Terminology
• Standard Numbers Added to Item Analysis Reports
• Alignment of HS Science Standards Data
• G-302 Reports Run Faster
• R-616 Now Shows Students' Incorrect Answers

School and District Profiles Updated with 2010 MCAS and AYP Data

The School and District Profiles area of the ESE Web site has now been updated with 2010 MCAS and AYP Data. We expect the Data Warehouse reports to be updated with 2010 data later this week. However, keep in mind that much of the data contained in the School and District level reports in the Data Warehouse can be explored through the Profiles area - no login required!

For example, the information from the R-401 School Item Analysis report can also be found in the Profiles area. Here's how to get to it:

• From Profiles, choose 'Organization Type > Public School' and then the desired city or town and click 'Search.'


• Click on the name of the desired school from the list on the bottom of the page that appears.


• Click the 'Assessment' tab.


• Click 'Item by Item Results' in the left hand column and then choose the desired grade/subject combination.

The previously published Data Warehouse Report Summary contains additional information which correlates data from Profiles with various Data Warehouse reports. Since no login is required for Profiles, links can be easily shared with staff who may not have Data Warehouse access. No report running required!

Data-Related Updates from ESE

MCAS Release Schedule Update:
The MCAS and AYP Data Review and Release schedule has recently changed, with public release of data (in the School and District Profiles area on the ESE Web site) scheduled for next Tuesday, September 14. Updated reports in the Data Warehouse are scheduled to be available on September 16. The statewide MCAS summary report (overview) for 2010 is now available online.

New Growth Model Tutorial:
As you know, this year's MCAS parent reports will now include growth and performance information for students, schools, and districts. Since the growth model is a new concept, the state has provided a tutorial specifically geared towards parents. Additional resources to help learn more about the growth model are available on the Growth page on the ESE Web site.

Education Data Warehouse Alert

The following message was posted in the security portal for Data Warehouse users, but I thought I'd share it here for those that had not logged in for a few days. More details on this topic were also included in the August 31 "On the Desktop" memo from Commissioner Chester.

Certain reports in the Education Data Warehouse (EDW) are running very slowly during periods of high use. We apologize for this inconvenience. Additional options for getting the reports you need as well as a brief explanation follow.

Additional options to obtain reports:

Drop Box Central: Currently includes preliminary rosters and reports. Will add detailed corrected students rosters with MCAS results (including Student Growth Percentiles) in PDF, DAT and EXCEL formats on September 9th.

Profiles: Will be updated on September 9th to include most aggregate reports that would otherwise be available in the EDW.

Brief Explanation:
While we remain excited about the capabilities of the EDW we purchased, it is clear that some components were not adequately designed for a statewide implementation; e.g., when several users simultaneously request the more complicated reports, the system slows down and becomes unresponsive. ESE submitted a Longitudinal Data Systems grant to the U.S. Department of Education last November in order to re-engineer these aspects of the EDW—preferably before the start of the 2010/2011 school year. The “good news” is that we won a grant in the amount of $13M with the major portion of these funds targeted to just this purpose. Unfortunately, the funding was not made available to ESE until late last week (8/26). Improvements to the EDW will be made in stages, with some available in weeks and others over the coming months.

If you need to run a custom query in the EDW during peak school hours we recommend running using the scheduling tool to run the reports during off-peak hours.

Laura's Note: Please follow this link for a recent related blog post entitled "Save Time! Running Reports in the Background".