PCG Education’s school data systems are customized to target and solve your ‘real world’ education problems, from at-risk student identification to state and federal reporting.

 

PCG Education blends expert technical, education, and management consulting capabilities with data systems built on open, national standards to provide proven solutions to an array of public education challenges, including

• State and federal reporting - EDFacts, the Consolidated State Report, CCSSO’s State Education Data Center and other national data outputs.
• School and program analysis - Student growth percentile calculations and other key performance indicators needed to support balanced scorecard, school and district strategic planning, and program evaluation.
• At-risk student identification - Dropout, behavior, and other at-risk early identification and prevention.
• Instructional improvement - State assessment item analysis and benchmark assessment predictive analysis.
• Special education compliance - Disproportionality risk ratio calculations, compliance fidelity, and analysis of services prescribed versus services delivered.

Meeting the challenges and improving student achievement

PCG Education’s education analytics target today’s education challenges, such as

• Drop-out rates - Over a million students drop-out of school annually. PCG can identify students at-risk for dropping out as early as possible and can help educators reduce drop-out rates through targeted interventions.
• Disproportionality - Across the nation, minority students are disproportionately likely to be placed in special education programs when intensive instructional services are instead needed. PCG can work with schools to make the best use of diagnostic data to identify students in need of additional instruction.
• Funding and vertical reporting - All states must provide complete and accurate EDFacts reports in order to be eligible to receive full federal funding. Districts must assign state IDs and report key student and staff snapshot data to states. PCG Education can map EDFacts submission specifications to valid collection specifications and can document each transformation needed to assemble complete submissions. At the district level, PCG Education can map authoritative repository metadata to required state submissions.

The PCG Education Approach

Integrated education consulting, professional development, and organizational change management are central to PCG Education’s design. We build our district, state and national, enterprise-scale technical tools to support school-based use. Beginning with a mature, well documented set of data models aligned to national standards, we customize systems with ETL development, data mapping, and report design to adapt our data model frameworks to specific client needs.

 

Our education consultants work in close partnership with school and agency- based client staff and stakeholders to facilitate agreement and document

• existing systems;
• targeted usage scenarios; and
• design specifications.

Our technology staff leverages public and proprietary frameworks to efficiently deliver education data systems that include

• ETL: data collection and validation,
• Data Warehouse: longitudinal relational and dimensional central data stores,
• Portal: web-based access to analytic tools, data upload tools, and
• Reports – outputs and presentations using technologies such as Microsoft, Oracle, Cognos business objects.

Choosing Appropriate Technology PCG Education has a long history of providing technology solutions to support school-based processes and programs. We have found a tendency in many districts and schools to use a “bigger is better” approach to procuring new technology. PCG Education’s approach is to first understand the needs of the school or district, then help guide the organization to the right technology – which, in some cases, may not be the most expensive system.

 

Given this core philosophy, PCG Education pairs the system implementation with a professional development model designed to increase systemic data use throughout the district, at all levels, to help increase student performance.

PCG Education's Education Analytics Services Include

Assessment Literacy

PCG Education offers services in assessment literacy that deepen district and school staff understanding of how varied assessments can be used most effectively to support student learning and achievement.

Based on the PCG Education's Assessment Literacy Handbook (Slaughter, 2008), we offer Professional Development Institutes to increase the assessment literacy of individuals and groups responsible for interpreting and applying data from state and standardized assessments.

 

 

Data Collection and Validation

PCG Education has a track record for delivering on-line, interactive, ETL and data collection/validation tools to support large and small scale data centralization initiatives, including unique student and staff identification.

Data Integration Services

PCG Education has a track record for delivering on-line, interactive, ETL and data collection/validation tools to support large and small scale data centralization initiatives, including unique student and staff identification.

 

 

Data Practices Audit

The Data Practices Audit engages district and school staff in examining current uses of data, and is an important first step in the process of establishing a district and schoolwide culture of data use.

 

 

Data Use Technical Assistance

PCG Education’s Data Use Technical Assistance Services can help. Our extensive experience helping schools and districts build systemic data use and developing and using many different technologies for data collection, integration, storage, and access enables us to design technical assistance solutions to meet the unique needs of our clients.

 

 

Data Use Training & Coaching

PCG Education’s Data Use Technical Assistance Services can help. Our extensive experience helping schools and districts build systemic data use and developing and using many different technologies for data collection, integration, storage, and access enables us to design technical assistance solutions to meet the unique needs of our clients.

 

 

Data Warehousing and Reporting

PCG Education's™ data warehouse is designed for ease of use and sustainable management. The PCG Education™ data models have been optimized with Microsoft’s SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) to achieve maximum performance and minimal total cost of ownership.

 

FastTrack Analysis

Today more than ever, administrators are expected to demonstrate the results of programs and services. This means being able to determine how much progress specific groups of students are making, and which programs and services produce positive results. Often educators do not have the time for a full, formal program evaluation and simply need quick answers to their questions.

 

 

Growth Modeling & Gains Analysis

PCG Education’s™ statistical growth models capture and explain individual and cohort student growth across multiple years and assessments. Schools and districts can use these powerful models to analyze strengths and weaknesses in educational programming. PCGEducation’s™ psychometricians and educational experts work with LEAs and SEAs to create customized reports detailing student growth patterns.

 

 

Integrated Data Audit

PCG Education’s™ Data Audit services are available for LEAs and SEAs, both as stand alone planning services as well as the initial phase of a larger project. Our data audit methodology incorporates complex metadata and statistical documentation with usage scenarios, user surveys, and focus groups to document existing systems and plan new systems. We work with our clients to build Data Quality, Data Culture, and Data Capacity.

 

Portal and Security Management

PCG Education™ utilizes Microsoft Office SharePoint Services (MOSS) to create single-sign-on (SSO), complex role-based identity management, and "Web 2.0" communication and collaboration services.

 

Program Evaluation

PCG Education™ specializes in customized program evaluations that utilize multiple methodologies and data sources to answer questions about program effectiveness, equity, accountability, and continuous improvement. PCG Education’s™ team of education specialists have conducted evaluations of local, state, and federally funded programs, specific interventions, and school reform initiatives across the country. Learn more about PCG's Program Evaluation Services

 

 

 

PCG Educations's Education Analytics Subject Matter Experts

Greg Nadeau

 

Robb Geier

 

Stephen Smith

 

 

 

More Information

For more information about PCG Education's Education Analytics services please contact us at info@publicconsultinggroup.com or 1-800-210-6113.