DOCUMENTATION
SAMS: Technical Details
Secure Web Interface
Reporting Appliance
Data Collection and Storage
System Administration and Maintenance
Flexibility and Availability
Secure Web Interface
Security is Executive Intelligence's top concern. FERPA requires that Executive Intelligence maintain the confidentiality of all student-level information. Executive Intelligence constantly works on network, user, and physical security.
User administration involves identifying authorized users, assigning and maintaining usernames and passwords, associating users with classifications (administrator, principal, teacher, parent), setting permission levels for data and reports.
Because the data to be displayed belongs to your District, it is up to your District to control who gets to see what. Your District must maintain a list of authorized users, passwords and their classifications. SAMS will work from a copy of that list.
The secure web interface authenticates users. Users must login to SAMS with a user name and password combination. Based on the login information, SAMS knows what data and what reports the user is authorized to see, if any. In most cases, user permissions are based on groups. For instance:
This Group |
Sees This Data... |
Administrator |
all students, all teachers, all schools |
Principal |
only students and teachers within that principal's school(s) |
Teacher |
only students in that teacher's classroom(s) |
Parent |
only their student(s) |
Public |
state, district and school-level summaries authorized by the Superintendent (no student identifiable information) |
Reporting Applications
When a user logs-in, SAMS creates a customized web interface for that user. The user sees a list of reports that have been authorized for that user. When the user clicks on the desired report, SAMS produces the report, but only with data that user is authorized to see.
Executive Intelligence maintains a number of standard reports that can be modified for your District. These reports can usually be put into production for your users within a few of weeks.
In addition, Executive Intelligence can create new custom reports to meet your requirements - usually within a few days. Once a report has been created and approved by your professional staff for publication, the report can be placed on the SAMS secure web interface. Your professional staff will establish the proper permission levels for each report.
User-friendly, intuitive screen design means that training can be accomplished quickly and reinforced easily with each use. For almost all users, including novice users, SAMS training can be completed in less than an hour.
Reports are created dynamically; only the report templates are stored. The data in the reports are generated on the fly (from the Data Marts) when the user requests the report. This ensures that the reports are as current as possible. Users can print reports to their local printer and save them on their local computer in one of several popular file formats.
Power users will enjoy using the SAMS ad hoc query tool. It will allow them to create complex reports using various source data. Within a few minutes, power users can produce reports, tables, charts and graphs. Training for the ad hoc query toolset usually requires two days. Reports created by your power users can be added to the Standard Reports set.
Data Collection and Storage
SAMS will accept data from virtually any source, including students, transcripts, teachers, courses, facilities, grades, assessments, attendance, discipline, registration, Human Resources, professional development, programs, and Finance.
Data extraction is a fancy term for getting data out of your District's computing systems and archives. Sometimes it is harder than it looks. Some data changes frequently and must be refreshed often (e.g., class rosters or student information). Other data hardly ever changes (e.g., last year's assessment scores). The Executive Intelligence system works only from copies of source data and does not directly interface with any "live" systems.
Data transport can occur many ways, but we prefer to automate as much of it as possible. Executive Intelligence still receives data on CD-ROMs from some Districts, but most data is now received over the Internet using secure data transfer protocols.
To help Districts solve repetitive extraction and data transport issues, Executive Intelligence has developed MultiPoint Intergration Manager. MultiPoint automatically extracts the required data from District systems and securely transports it to the Executive Intelligence Service Center. MultiPoint can be programmed to run at any time, and as often as necessary. There is a small fee for using MultiPoint.
Once the data arrives at the Executive Intelligence Service Center, it is copied, archived, and loaded into a longitudinal data warehouse. The data warehouse is a safe repository for your data, and is designed to hold up to 18 years of student and assessment data, as required by No Child Left Behind. No analysis is performed inside the data warehouse; it is strictly a repository.
The term "data warehouse" is largely misunderstood, so we will be clear about our meaning. For Executive Intelligence, "data warehouse" means a secure computerized repository of source data that is organized to facilitate orderly, accurate and timely retrieval of data for further analysis and reporting. The data warehouse is very protected.
SAMS takes data from the data warehouse and loads it into one or more Data Marts, which are highly optimized database systems designed to quickly respond to queries from users. Executive Intelligence's Data Marts are built for speed and reliability, and are be capable of handling thousands of simultaneous queries.
System Administration and Maintenance
The Executive Intelligence staff in Denver is responsible for keeping SAMS working. This includes hardware and software upgrades, repairs, testing, documentation, and daily backups of everything.
Executive Intelligence staff are available by telephone and email to provide support to District users from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday, except holidays.
Flexibility and Availability
Executive Intelligence can immediately load data from any of the following into its data warehouse and Student Achievement Management System.
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Student Information Systems:
Nationally Available Assessments:
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State Assessments:
Virginia District-level Assessments:
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