Early Wins on the Data Journey: A Georgia Tech Director's Success Story with Pear Assessment's Data Studio
Before integrating Pear Assessment's Data Studio into her district, Holly Boykin, technology director for Screven, Georgia schools, was facing a daunting challenge. With 2,000 students across three different schools, her district needed to find a solution to track data to ensure each student had services and support they needed.
Describing the labyrinth of data management woes the district encountered, Holly shared, "We were using Google Sheets and lots of extensions to pull data from all of our different sources. It took forever to create, and it would start to crash because it couldn't handle all of the data being processed.”
Amidst the waterfalls of data being produced, a glimmer of hope emerged when Holly stumbled upon an email showcasing Pear Assessment's Data Studio. “I figured let's just look at it and see what it is. So that's how we got started," she explained.
Collaborative success leads to early triumphs
Screven is still early in their adoption of Data Studio, but they are already seeing success in tracking student data and alleviating the burden of data collection. Holly attributed early successes with the feature to Pear Assessment's attentive support team.
"I have to give them kudos. They listened and tried to give us everything we've asked for."
This collaborative effort has already started to pave the way for progress. "I can't say enough about how great it's been to work with them. I appreciate what they've done to help us succeed." Her words underscored the importance of strong vendor partnerships in achieving shared goals.
Features that make a difference
Reflecting on the features that have proved most valuable so far, Holly highlighted the ability to centralize data and the flexibility of filtering options. Data Studio is a single platform where she could bring all district data together in one place, eliminating the need for manual compilation. This centralization of data has streamlined the data management process, making it more efficient and reliable.
She’s also now able to filter data based on specific criteria, allowing users to narrow down their focus and analyze only the data relevant to their needs. This flexibility is crucial for Holly's role, as it enables her to drill down into specific aspects of the data, such as school performance, teacher performance, and student performance.
By customizing the filters, she can tailor the analysis to address specific questions or concerns, making the data more actionable and insightful for decision-making.
Navigating a path to success
For districts considering adopting Data Studio, Holly advised starting with an overall vision. "They need to know what data they're going to import. Being organized is so important." She stressed the importance of planning, organization, and setting aside dedicated time for exploration and training.
Looking ahead, she envisioned further utilization and expansion of Data Studio within her district.
"Eventually I'd like to roll it out for all of our teachers. There’s so much value in having multi-year student data imported."
An ongoing data journey
In Holly’s Pear Assessment's Data Studio journey, challenges metamorphosed into opportunities, and collaboration propelled progress. With a clear vision, empowered tools, and unwavering support, her district has embarked on a transformative path toward data-driven excellence.
Ready to bring Data Studio to your school? Learn more about Pear Assessment.
