Earlier this month, members of the Educational Data Services (EDS) team and CNYRIC administration held an Advanced Analytics Focus Group with district representatives to review some exciting newer features of Mindex’s SchoolTool, the student management system platform used by districts throughout Central New York (and beyond).
The gathering kicked off with a presentation of a prototype custom report generated through SchoolTool’s Advanced Analytics tool. This offered a clear example of the visualizations that can be created using the expanded toolset, which can help districts better standardize their data reports. But the real utility came from the attendees splitting up into groups to discuss what these kinds of visualizations/reporting models might look like for their districts. SchoolTool currently offers more tools than ever before to help districts customize their reports, which of course means that conversations around what these visualizations might look like are essential.
With that thought in mind, attendees split into ad-hoc teams to discuss some of their thoughts on the topic. After jotting down several ideas that were generated among groups, the teams rotated around the room to see what representatives from the other district teams came up with. Individuals even offered a “check” next to anything that might work for their own districts, or that differed from the list generated by their own team.
Besides functioning as an excellent conduit for productive conversation and critical thinking about what this “step” would produce, the focus group also yielded invaluable data for the EDS team. Armed with a better understanding of what could help districts in the immediate future, the team now has targets for helping districts build standardized reporting visualizations that they can use (and, with proper training, amend and iterate upon as needed).
It’s an ever-evolving process of course, but when partnered with tools that offer much greater flexibility, districts are now empowered to utilize their data in ways that can more meaningfully affect decision-making.
