New Technology Will Provide Immediate Access to Alaska's Student Data -- ESP Solutions Group Selected to Build Alaska's Educational Portal System

A new project underway at the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) will provide immediate access to education data for the people who rely on them most for data-driven decision making (D3M). The "Alaska Educational Portal System," being built by ESP Solutions Group, will make accessing education related data easier for school districts, federal agencies, the public sector, public and private researchers, and law and policy makers.

Austin, Texas (PRWEB) October 19, 2007 -- A new project underway at the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) will provide immediate access to education data for the people who rely on them most for data-driven decision making (D3M). The "Alaska Educational Portal System" will make accessing education related data easier for school districts, federal agencies, the public sector, public and private researchers, and law and policy makers.

The new web-based system, scheduled for completion by early 2008, is being designed, built, and implemented by ESP Solutions Group, (www.espsolutionsgroup), a leading provider of education technology solutions. The system will be built on Microsoft's SharePoint portal technology--allowing stakeholders to access information by signing on to a single integrated system and simplifying the electronic sharing of data across applications. Making data more accessible and readily available for decision making also helps the State meet the reporting requirements of No Child Left Behind and the Alaska Performance Incentive Program (a program established to give monetary incentives to schools across the state that show students demonstrate more than one year's worth of academic growth).

During the kickoff meeting last month, there was much anticipation of getting actionable reports from data collected over the years at DEED. It's one of the areas in which ESP specializes and it's what D3M is all about.

Glynn D. Ligon, president and CEO of ESP Solutions Group commented, "During the kickoff meeting last month, there was much anticipation of getting actionable reports from data collected over the years at DEED. It's one of the areas in which ESP specializes and it's what D3M is all about."

DEED has already set a proper foundation for the project by constructing a centralized data warehouse, consolidating multiple data collections, and standardizing data practices--all of which are crucial for managing and analyzing longitudinal data. The data accessible from the portal will include existing statewide K-12 educational student assessment, student program, and staffing and paraprofessional data.

Even though the new portal will make accessing data easier, there will be significant security measures built into the system. Each stakeholder group will have access to education data contained in the data warehouse based on their security levels. ESP's Project Manager, Steven King and nationally known confidentiality and FERPA expert, Barbara S. Clements, Ph.D, will work with Alaska to ensure proper security measures are met. ESP Solutions Group is working on the project with global information technology services firm, CTG, who have offices in Anchorage, Alaska.

About ESP Solutions Group:
ESP provides education agencies with extraordinary insight into PK-12 data systems and psychometrics. ESP's team is comprised of industry experts who pioneered the concept of "Data-Driven Decision Making" (D3M) and now help optimize the management of data in state and local education agencies. ESP has advised all 52 state education agencies as well as the U.S. Department of Education on the practice of PK-12 school data management. The firm's management team is regarded as leading experts in understanding data and technology implications of No Child Left Behind, EDEN (Education Data Exchange Network), and SIF (Schools Interoperability Framework).

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