Pathways Success Story: Streamlining Student Data Management and Graduation Tracking
Vidor High School, located in Vidor, Texas, demonstrates a consistent commitment to student support and success. However, the school administrators faced a big challenge in managing student graduation paths in secondary education. This often resulted in processes that consumed too much time and were prone to human error.
Lauren Buckley, a dedicated counselor at Vidor High School, had to juggle numerous spreadsheets to track student data. In pursuit of efficiency and accuracy, Lauren adopted Pathways which promised a transformative shift and a platform tailored to the unique needs of school counselors. This was the start of Vidor’s journey to streamline student data management and enhance the educational experience for learners.
The Challenge
With vast amounts of student data to manage and keep track of, Lauren Buckley struggled to stay on top of all of this information successfully. The school’s original system relied heavily on disparate spreadsheets, resulting in inefficiencies and additional workload in tracking student progress toward graduation and meeting state-mandated standards.
“We had to cross-reference multiple spreadsheets to check our data manually. So, it was just a lot of upkeep.”
With a considerable number of data points to monitor, including the newly introduced College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR) metrics, the process became increasingly complex and time-consuming. Lauren emphasizes this challenge, explaining that “the new CCMR data that the state was having us track for accountability was difficult to keep up with, and creating our own tracking systems was also a challenge.”
Plus, the accountability standards set by the state of Texas demanded meticulous attention to detail. This only amplified the pressure on the district’s educators and administrators alike.
The struggle to compile accurate and up-to-date information — to boost student success and meet regulatory requirements — led to Lauren pursuing a solution that could offer support. What was she looking for?
“Our administrators wanted solid data and streamlined management, so we could do our jobs with more efficiency, fidelity, and integrity in providing information that’s accurate.”
The Solution
With a pressing need for efficient data administration, Lauren recognized the potential of Pathways to address the challenges of student progress, particularly with the newly introduced CCMR metrics. This platform from Education Advanced efficiently tracks and analyzes student graduation pathways in secondary education settings — ensuring learners are on target to graduate.
“Pathways comes in a nice pretty package, so we don’t have to do a lot of manual data entry anymore."
“We were really excited about Pathways because it was everything that we wanted all in one place, and it was more tailored to what school counselors needed,” Lauren explains. “We also like the way it’s laid out. It’s user-friendly and color-coded, which makes it easy to digest.”
The initial setup went smoothly, with supportive training and assistance from the Education Advanced team. “It was an easy onboarding process,” says Lauren. “Our training helped us get the data pieces put together that we needed. I was able to enter a lot of our data files, and then they connected it to our system.”
Lauren went on to emphasize the critical role Education Advanced played during the adoption phase of the process. “We were surprised at the responsiveness when you submitted a support ticket,” she explains. “They’ve been very responsive and the customer support has been great.”
“You could tell that they wanted us to be able to utilize everything that the solution was meant for. And if something wasn’t working, they would find out why and how they can fix it,” Lauren said.
Ever since the solution’s adoption, Vidor High School’s administrators now have a clearer overview of student data and tracking.
“I can look at a glance to see the whole picture of where my students are. Instead of having to go to different places and interpret data on my own, I see the color green and know that a student has met the right standards."
The Results
Since embracing Pathways, Lauren and Vidor High School have experienced transformative outcomes in data management and administrative efficiency.
“Pathways is a one-stop-shop where you can go to see everything all together. And to have it all in one place and not have to scramble to find data when we meet with the student, parent, or administrator is really making us more efficient at our jobs.”
Lauren goes on to explain that “a more accurate solution also means we don't have the threat of human error looming over us all the time."
The platform's intuitive interface and automated data integration have revolutionized how Vidor High School monitors student progress and adherence to state standards.
“One of our favorite features is the state testing tracker. All we have to do is upload our data and it's right there. So, we don’t have to spend hours creating and maintaining elaborate testing spreadsheets."
The other biggest area where Pathways provided support was the CCMR tracker, which is directly related to state accountability and funding.
“Last year the goal for CCMR completion was 60%, and this year it’s jumped up to 90%. That was a huge increase in one year and we really depend on Pathways to be able to help us track this information, without us having to do the complex math or use spreadsheets to calculate it.”
This streamlined process has empowered Lauren to interpret data accurately for stakeholders, facilitating informed decision-making and proactive interventions to support student success; not to mention optimizing district funding opportunities.
Lauren ended by highlighting, “We love the program, we felt like the pricing was very fair, and we hope to continue using it every year."
The Product
Pathways, powered by Education Advanced, Inc., is a graduation tracking tool that allows administrators and counselors to efficiently create, monitor, and analyze graduation pathways to ensure secondary students are on track to graduate. Pathways ensures the accuracy of student data through a feed with the district student information system, which saves time and reduces the administrative burden for counselors and administrators.
