The American Samoa Department of Education (ASDOE) has selected Pearson and Choice Solutions Inc. to design and implement a federally funded P-20 longitudinal data system (LDS). This project is said to represent the first of its kind in the Pacific. The ASDOE currently serves 21,326 students between the ages of 3 and 18 from public and private schools.
To improve education services for these students, the ASDOE invested in a series of separate information systems. Forcing the systems' databases together to enable data-driven decision-making and to meet federally mandated reporting requirements was found to be extremely complex. The Pearson and Choice LDS will connect these systems — and the records within them — to create a single, easily accessible information source that simplifies federal reporting efforts and delivers actionable data into the hands of educational stakeholders.
This new LDS will incorporate a series of information technology products from the partnered organisations: Pearson will deliver PowerSchool SMS, Pearson Inform and ParentCONNECT; while Choice will install edFusion. Choice and Pearson have created P-20 Longitudinal Data Systems for 23 states. This breadth of IT system integration and project management experience is expected to provide American Samoa with unmatched data-linking expertise as it takes this critical step forward in educational improvement.
Choice and Pearson will work with American Samoa to further customise their products to deliver a service that is tailored for the region. When complete, the LDS will enable accurate aggregation, disaggregation, and analysis of American Samoa's critical education information. The state will save time and resources through streamlined federal reporting processes. Meanwhile, educational stakeholders across the territory will reportedly have access to a secure and easy-to-use environment in which they may effectively leverage existing data to improve the decision-making processes and student outcomes.
