Student outcomes analysis reporting (SOAR) server

This Phase I Small Business Innovation Research Program proposal outlines methodology and research directed towards the development of a web-based education data warehousing and reporting server. The Student Outcomes Analysis Reporting (SOAR) server will provide template reports and freedom browsing of student academic and behavioral outcomes, and will address the challenge effectively managing and analyzing the volumes of data available to schools. Key to development of such a system is new technique in data mining and warehousing applied to education data. Integration with existing student information management system databases as well as support for import and transformation of state testing data and postsecondary enrollment information from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) are vital to capturing the trends and patterns in the factors most relevant to student outcomes. The system will use advanced web search methodologies to retrieve data from a variety of sources and collect it in data warehouse. The system will use the retrieved data to present longitudinal, or year over year, reports for analysis of the areas most relevant to student outcomes. Among the key technologies and standards propose are XML, metadata, semantic web, software agents and SIF