case study:
Callanan works with state to revamp vexing adult-ed data system
It's no secret that the paperwork required of federal government grant recipients can be staggering. Just ask officials at the Maine Department of Education's Adult Education office. The Adult High School Completion Programs must compile data on student outcomes, educational gains, employment gains, numbers of students who received a GED, numbers of students who continued their education, student demographics, and so on.
Andy McMahan and Lisa Perry ofthe Department ofEducation weigh the advantages ofthe new electronic filing system.
"We decided to keep money in our budget to meet new challenges. It was a smart decision, because nearly every year the feds have made some change in what they want for data. Frank Callanan has been responsive at every step of the way."
- Andrew McMahan, coordinator of DOE's Adult High School Completion Programs
Worse, up until the 1990s, all the data was on paper. Tons of paper.
Seeking a solution, the department moved to develop a Maine Adult Education Managed Information System. "That [version] worked for several years, but had a lot of shortcomings," said Andrew McMahan, coordinator of DOE's Adult High School Completion Programs. "And the government was always adding more parameters to the mix."
A colleague's recommendation led McMahan to the Center for Educational Services.
In early 2002, McMahan met with Frank Callanan, an educational technology analyst, to review the problems. They discussed the history, the background, the issues, the future needs.
"The department had been using this database solution for several years, but was not satisfied. The database had become unwieldy, and the data was unreliable," said Callanan.
Callanan laid out a plan of how to approach the upgrade, and began the project.
Working with McMahan and a team of knowledgeable users, he set out to revamp the system to provide for distributed data collection and centralized data reporting. Other requirements included an intuitive interface (to flatten the learning curve), a high level of automation (to support version upgrades) and a modular approach (to allow for the frequent updates required by changing government requirements).
"Perhaps the crowning achievement of the system," said Callanan, "is the reporting module. This file performs all the arcane calculations required by federal agencies. It is easily updated because it does not require the end user to input nor import data -- it simply performs the necessary queries and sends a report to Augusta."
The technical expertise is only part of the solution implemented by the Center.
The process has been -- and continues to be -- a highly collaborative one. "From the start, I worked with the MAEMIS Resource Guides, a group of nine regional Adult Ed practitioners who provide support to all the Adult Ed sites in the state. By creating and maintaining a feedback loop with the Guides, the process of design, implementation, testing, correcting and retesting has been a model for success," said Callanan.
Originally published Center for Educational Services ©2005. Used by permission.
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