NCLB and Decision Support

© 2002 millennium strategies

Background

No Child Left Behind is cited by many as the single most important governmental act to effect education in two generations. We leave it to others to qualify that statement; what we know is that NCLB is changing the landscape of information systems in education in two fundamental ways: increased need for effective data management and the requirement for data-driven decision methodologies. We also know that there is significant misunderstanding around the requirements of NCLB. Our response to some of the other misunderstandings include:

• • NCLB is not about technology and technology itself will not facilitate compliance with NCLB
• • The progress required by NCLB cannot be sustained by data-driven decisions alone
• • Meeting the long-term requirements of NCLB requires a radically new methodology.

Systems and Processes

The requirements for consistent improvement and progresss requires both technology and methodologies. The systems and processes required to meet the requirements of NCLB as well as build the foundation for change and progress applies equally well to schools, districts and the states. A general approach includes:

• • Develop an effective and realistic strategic plan for decision support within the organization
• • Develop return-on-investment metrics for implementation of new information and decision support systems
• • Develop an optimum solution for information systems to address NCLB that leverages existing investments
• • Plan and implement a data warehouse
• • Design supporting networks and network management systems
• • Design and implement data centers and data protection systems
• • Build the processes and train participants in decision support and change creation
• • Implement the change process to generate best-practice alternatives and the creative ideas needed to drive change
• • Plan and manage implementation of selected options to create change.

We have developed the a³ decision support environment to provide a context and methodology to make sense of data warehousing and decision support because without a process for decisive action, any results are mere accidents and any benefits are just good luck. The major elements of the environment are the data warehouse, information transformer and options generator. Interacting with these elements are the processes for assessment, analysis and action.

The data warehouse is an association of data resources with processes for data loading, consolidation and maintenance. The information transformer includes tools and processes to extract trends, causes and successful methods from warehouse data for inputs to the assessment, analysis and action functions. The options generator takes input from various sources and applies them to a model academic environment to determine the potential for long-term improvement.

A data warehouse provides the means to look backward and compare where one is with where one has been to meet reporting requirements. It also provides some of the insight needed to develop options for change by discerning successful methods that have worked in the past. Queries to identify trends and causes for trends are the initial steps in identifying successful methods.

To the warehouse we have added an information transformer. This element consolidates data and builds the presentations to facilitate assessment and analysis. As with the data warehouse, it is a combination of tools, processes and skills applied to transform data into information.

The options generator is primarily a process for creation of ideas. Input to the generator includes successful methods discerned from the data, best practice methods and creative ideas derived from brainstorm sessions.

The enterprise modeler creates a numerical or graphical model of the organization to forecast the potential outcome from changes proposed by options. Those with the greatest return on investment and the greatest potential for success are chosen for implementation. Effectiveness is gathered as additional data stored in the warehouse for comparison with actual implementation.

The primary activities of acquisition, analysis and action for a three step plan to implement change. Acquisition gathers and configures the data for use, Analysis discerns trends and discovers the causes for those trends.   Analysis also models new options as candidates to develop new trends for positive change and year-to-year progress. Action implements solutions to amplify or attenuate trends.