News

 
ESP Successfully Manages Ed-Fi Certification Process for Only Non-USA Vendor To Date
December 2022
On December 12, 2022, ESP completed the exhaustive certification process requiring coordination between Edsembli’s data analyst, the ESP development team, and the Ed-Fi Alliance.  Edsembli was able to attend the Ed-Fi Summit and was presented as the latest vendor to certify and the only vendor from outside the United States to certify on the Ed-Fi platform.

Ohio Department of Education New VRF Feature – Phase 1 of Local Report Builder Project
August 2022
ESP is launching a new feature in VRF for the Ohio Department of Education.  This feature will allow VRF users to filter on fields and values of their choosing for any collections, submissions, or CSV files distributed by ODE.  This launch is the first phase of the Local Report Builder Project.

Delaware Department of Education Expanding DataSpecs® Documentation for Public Data Dictionary Project
July 2022
ESP is working with DDOE on adding a new repository to their DataSpecs® documentation.  This public data dictionary project will allow the external individuals who are interested in DDOE data to run a DataSpecs® report that will show insights into the Public Report Mart Repository.

 
Idaho Department of Education – ESP Develops New Collection, Financial Transparency
May 2022
In May of 2022 ESP developed a new Financial Transparency data collection in State Report Manager for Idaho’s Office of the State Board of Education (OSBE) and State Controller’s Office (SCO).


 
ESP Creates EdTechTerms, a Smart Phone App to Search Education Technology Terms
January 2022
ESP Solutions Group is taking its years of product development experience to the app development space and created EdTechTerms.  This handy phone or computer app has thousands of definitions for education technology terms as well as metadata from standards such as CEDS, Ed-Fi, A4L, PESC, and others. For educators, the advantage is a focus on our industry.  Get it free in the Apple or Android app store.


 
Wyoming Department of Education MAP2™ Project
November 2021
ESP used MAP2 to automap WDE’s collections to CEDS V10 and upload the mappings into the CEDS Align Tool.  The data dictionary that has been built and maintained in DataSpecs for many years is now up to date on mapping to CEDS and done in a short amount of time.


 
Alaska Department of Education – ESP Develops Pandemic Benefit Transfer Data Collection for SRM
May 2021
In May of 2021 ESP developed a new Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) data collection in State Report Manager to track pandemic funding. P-EBT is part of the U.S. government response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through P-EBT, eligible school children receive temporary emergency nutrition benefits loaded on EBT cards that are used to purchase food. Children who would have received free or reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch Act if their schools were not closed or operating with reduced hours or attendance for at least 5 consecutive days are eligible to receive P-EBT benefits. P-EBT also provides benefits to younger children in households participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) whose covered child care facility is closed or operating with reduced hours or attendance, or who live in the area of schools that are closed or operating with reduced hours or attendance.

 
ESP Creates MAP2™ to Automate Mapping to CEDS
February 2021
ESP has created MAP2™, a SAAS product that automaps your elements to the latest version of CEDS for you.  After many years of going through the manual mapping process for our SEA clients to CEDS elements, we automated it all the way through to a compliant upload to the CEDS Align Tool. Go to MAP2Home.com to try it.

 
Ohio Department of Education Remote Education Services Data through VRF New Feature
April 2020
ESP has recently implemented new functionality for the Vertical Reporting Framework (VRF) in Ohio in order for the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) to obtain high-level information on remote education services being provided by Ohio’s schools during the Spring 2020 school building closure.  ODE could not collect the information needed through their SIS but were able to create Excel files for superintendents to fill out.  ESP pre-released a feature that supports data collection through file attachments.

 
ESP to Map Missouri Student Information System (MOSIS) Data Elements to U.S. Department of Education’s CEDS Alignment Tool
March 2020
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has engaged with ESP to map their unique data elements to CEDS and upload the mappings to the CEDS alignment tool.  

ESP Creating WyEd-Fi Teacher Training Course on Canvas for Wyoming Teachers to get Professional Development Credit
July 2019
As ESP continues to successfully support the WyEd-Fi Dashboards project for the Wyoming Department of Education, we are now creating a Teacher Training Course that Wyoming teachers can take to get a thorough training on the WyEd-Fi Dashboards AND get Professional Development credit.  This course will be housed in the Learning Management System, Canvas.

ESP Ed-Fi Solutions for Uinta County School District #1 (Wyoming) 
November 2018
ESP is developing and maintaining a District Ed-Fi ODS Solution for Uinta #1. ESP is hosting the Ed-Fi ODS onsite at Uinta #1.

DataSpecs for The Delaware Department of Education (DDOE)
November 2018
The Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) has engaged with ESP to host and migrate their DataSpecs® Enterprise Data Dictionary to Amazon Web Services. ESP is working with DDOE to update their DataSpecs® documentation and mappings from their SIS to ODS, and from their ODS to iMart. 

Missouri Higher Ed Data Collection and Reporting
June 2018
ESP worked with the Missouri Departments of Higher Education (DHE) and Economic Development (DED) to develop the Enhanced Missouri Student Achievement Study (EMSAS) Scorecard data collection via State Report Manager (SRM). SRM collects both certified and uncertified higher education program data as it relates to college education outcomes. The data is used to compare the various programs as well as to track student outcomes.

SIF Vertical Reporting Framework (VRF) in Connecticut
May 2018
ESP has recently implemented new functionality for the SIF Vertical Reporting Framework (VRF) in Connecticut. In partnership with the CT Department of Education, VRF will now be able to present Level 2 Reports at the Data Collector. Previously Connecticut PowerSchool districts had to log in to a state application to see their Level 2 Reports. Now they will be able to see them in the context of the collection, submitted from VRF. School districts will also be able to set the time frame dates (first and last date) for their incident report collections (ED166). Without VRF the users had to manually delete the records which fell outside of the time frame, from the State Reporting file generated by the SIS.

Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) – EDFacts Shared State Solution and ISInsight
May 2018
ESP’s EDFacts Shared State Solution (ES3) project with BIE is providing them a comprehensive process for satisfying the requirements of the USED for EDFacts reporting. We will also document the flow of data to the EDFacts submission reports with an ISInsight diagram.

www.ARNIEdocs.info Introduces Resumes and Job Postings
April 2018
www.ARNIEdocs.info is now a platform for practitioners in research, evaluation, & assessment in school settings to post/find jobs and resumes.

WyEd-Fi Dashboards Launched in Wyoming
October 2017
ESP has begun training school districts in Wyoming for the WyEd-Fi project. WyEd-Fi is an Ed-Fi Dashboards project for the Wyoming Department of Education that integrates data from the two Ed-Fi certified SIS vendors in Wyoming. ESP has developed an Ed-Fi software product to support the near real-time needs for WDE.

www.ARNIEdocs.info Reaches the 3,000 Publication Milestone 
April 2018
ESP’s www.ARNIEdocs.info has now reached over 3,000 publications.

WyEd-Fi Dashboards Launched in Wyoming
2016
ESP has developed an Ed-Fi software product to support the near real-time needs of our customers.   Our initial product has been deployed to production for the Wyoming Department of Education branded as WyEd-Fi.  It is based on the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF) Ed-Fi Alliance 2.0 API/ODS core and 2.0 Dashboards code base with an emphasis on Assessments.  WyEd-Fi integrates data from the two Ed-Fi certified SIS vendors in Wyoming, PowerSchool and Infinite Campus.

Colorado Department of Education – DataSpecs® and Ed Data Portal
May 2016
ESP is working with CDE to document their data dictionary in DataSpecs® and provide public access via Ed Data Portal for parents, districts, and others to view their dictionary of elements. The public portal displays CDE’s collections, the state and local laws related to that collection, the data elements within each collection, and the description and designated Personally Identifiable Information (PII) for each element.

ESP Supports Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) to Create Military Child Identifier
March 2016
ESP began providing pro bono support for the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) to create a Military Child Identifier for CEDS and ESSA.

#ESPTwiminars12 – Salsa & PII

2016

#ESPTwiminar11 – Dashboard Insights
2016

#ESPTwiminar10 – My Data Button
2016

#ESPTwiminar9: What’s a Twiminar?
2016

#ESPTwiminars8 – Ed Tech Scope Creep
2016

ARNIEdocs.info reaches the 2,000 publication milestone 
2016

WY-Fi Dashboards launched in Wyoming (Ed-Fi V2.0)
2016

Colorado Department of Education DataSpecs® for statewide metadata dictionary
2016

Missouri DESE – Special Education Reporting
2015
ESP and their partner Aspect are working with Missouri DESE to analyze their Special Education Profile Report, develop a new set of reports, and optimize data marts to streamline and facilitate the Special Education reporting process.

Utah State Board of Education HB358 student privacy consulting

2016

Alaska EED – Special Education Child Count Summary Report
2015

Alaska EED – State Report Manager (SRM)

2015


Missouri DESE – State Report Manager (SRM)

2015

North Dakota DPI – ISInsight

2015


EDFacts Dashboards & Analytics

2015

#ESPTwiminar7 – EDFacts Dashboards & Analytics

2015

#ESPTwiminar6 – Project Management

2015

#ESPTwiminar5 – De-Identification
2015

#ESPTwiminar4 – School District R&E
2015

#ESPTwiminar3 – Data Quality
2015

#ESPTwiminar2 – Procurement Solutions for Education Administrative Systems

2015

#ESPTwiminar1 – Action Reports
2015

ARNIE Success at the 2015 NCES Stats DC Summer Conference
July 2015
ARNIE received kudos at the 2015 NCES Stats DC Summer Data Conference from those attending a session entitled “Sharing Our Unpublished Publications.” David Weinberger from Yonkers, NY, chaired the lively discussion of how ARNIE will fill a longstanding need for a way to access the wealth of documents created locally by LEAs. Bob Rodosky, Jefferson County, KY, reviewed past efforts districts have tried to share with mixed success. He touted ARNIE’s ease of entry and access. Brad McMillen, Wake County, NC, represented an early success story. His district has uploaded over 150 documents. Brad reported that the process is so simple that one person took about 3 or 4 hours for the entire set of publications. Glynn Ligon, ESP, took notes as the audience made suggestions for enhancements. Overall, ARNIE has made tremendous progress with over 750 documents uploaded for access since its debut at AERA in April. (LEARN MORE HERE)

De-Mystifying De-Identification
June 2015

If you manage or use an education database and are concerned about confidentiality, read this paper. There’s no need for extreme measures that remove too much personal information from all of our databases. Polititech decisions can support official reporting, research, FOI requests, and FERPA/HIPAA. (READ MORE HERE)


ESP Launches EDTECH Docs – Education Technology, Application, Management and Procurement
May 2015
ESP has created EDTECH Docs in support of education agencies. Our vision is that these agencies will improve their data governance through the better understanding of lessons learned from other agencies. With better access to metadata about applications and companies, education agencies should find more choices available when procuring and upgrading their solutions. 

ESP Launches ARNIE Docs – Research, Evaluation, and Assessment in Schools
April 2015
ESP created ARNIE Docs to provide broad access to the extensive and useful assessment, research, and evaluation publications of education agencies. ESP has created and sponsors ARNIE for AERA Division H, NATD, DRE, and other associations whose members publish outstanding documents from the school perspective. (READ MORE HERE)

TEACHER TO TEACHER: Informing Decisions
March 2015
 
ESP has created a new poster that helps anyone appreciate the complexities of your organization and work.  As we all continue to gather insights for improving information systems, I’m asking for an opportunity to lead your staff in a lively discussion of lessons learned and their implications for improving systems and data use.  Think of this as an overview of what people are doing and an opportunity to benchmark your progress and priorities. (READ MORE HERE)

Procurement Solutions for Education Administrative Systems
March 2015

The procurement process for education administrative systems (SIS, IIS, etc.) is often filled with pitfalls and unique challenges. Follow this ESP Twitter Seminar (ESPTwiminar) which summarizes best practices for managing successful systems procurements and implementations. The process to follow and the structured approach to identifying needs and addressing specific requirements through the system being procured, are presented and discussed. After this seminar, you will approach all future administrative systems procurements with a blueprint for success. (READ MORE HERE)


Actions Speak Louder Than Data
February 2015

When I was a school district employee responding to ad hoc requests for information from principals, superintendents, and parents, I was struck by how many times the requestors didn’t get back what they really wanted. After tiring of re-running analyses, I realized that the requestor’s mindset was turned around. Instead of walking in and asking for specific data, they should have been telling me what they wanted to do with the data. That “aha” made life so much easier. This Optimal Reference Guide turns around how educators are using their decision support systems. (READ MORE HERE)


Introducing ESP Twiminars 
January 2015

ESP Solutions Group, Inc. announced in January, 2015, the launching of ESP Twitter Seminars, called ESPTwiminars (#ESPTwiminars).  The first is “Action Reports.”  A compilation of insights for creating usable and used reports (#ESPTwiminar1). (READ MORE HERE)


ESP Announces the Addition of Vertical Reporting Framework
September 2014

ESP Solutions Group, Inc. announced today the addition of the Vertical Reporting Framework (VRF) to its  family of state reporting products, which includes State Report Manager (SRM), and EDFacts Shared  State Solution (ES3). VRF was developed by Pearson, who is no longer supporting the software and is pleased to have ESP taking over its client states.  ESP now provides software and support for 13 state education agencies for state reporting, which  encompasses collecting or reporting data from schools and districts to the state and/or from the state to the federal government. VRF and SRM exchange data using the Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF) standard as well as CSV files. ESP is committed to maintaining Pearson’s high level of support and maintenance for VRF. “With our three state reporting products and our growing number of client states, we are well positioned to continue to be not only the nation’s thought leaders for vertical reporting, but also the product leaders,” said Glynn Ligon, ESP’s founder and CEO. ESP’s Vice President for Product Development, Jim Rife, will lead the team supporting VRF. Steve King, ESP’s Chief Architect, who has been on numerous SIF Boards since its founding, will continue to oversee the interoperability of all clients’ information systems for reporting data across levels of government. For additional information about VRF or any other ESP products, email info@espsg.com or call 512-879-5300


ESP’s President Presents “Indexing Metadata for Internal and external Validity” Paper at AERA Meeting
April 2014

Glynn D. Ligon, Ph.D., ESP’s President, will present a paper entitled “Indexing Metadata for Internal and external Validity” at the Annual American Educational Research Association (AERA) Meeting the week of April 3, 2014.  This paper reports the results of a study across metadata dictionaries of education agencies of key data elements to show the necessity of having quality metadata to determine the validity of research and evaluation.  From this study, Dr. Ligon developed the Metadata Index to rate the quality of the documentation of metadata by an organization.


ESP Sponsors Technology for Automating the Division H Exhibit Booth at Annual AERA Meeting
April 2014

ESP Solutions Group is sponsoring the technology for automating the Division H (Research, Evaluation, and Assessment in the Schools) exhibit booth at the Annual American Educational Research Association (AERA) Meeting the week of April 3, 2014.  ESP is providing Chromebooks, a projector, and a banner to allow visitors to browse entries in Division H’s annual publication awards competition.  Visitors will be able to email themselves copies of publications they like.  Results of the competition will be announced on www.P20WForum.info.


 
Missouri DESE – School Foods Report Development Project
January 2014
 
ESP and their partner IRG are working with Missouri DESE to analyze their existing School Foods Reporting System and develop a new data mart to streamline and facilitate the reporting process.
 

 
Iowa Department of Education – Data Dictionary System
October 2013
 
Using DataSpecs (an ESP metadata inventory tool), ESP is working with the Iowa Department of Education to document collections, repositories, and outputs for reporting.
 

 
New Hampshire – Spark NH Early Childhood Data System
August 2013
 
ESP conducted a Needs Analysis of identified data sets for the NH Departments of Education and Health and Human Services to determine the feasibility of linking early childhood data from the local level to the state level. We completed a report of findings that included recommendations to integrate early childhood data at the state level, and included suitable data to be used in applying for federal grants.
 

 
The State of Oklahoma, Office of Management Enterprise Services – Information Services Division (OMES) – Information Architecture and Metadata Repository (IAMR) Tool
May 2013
 
ESP is working with OMES to develop an ISInsight diagram and to document a metadata repository using DataSpecs.
 

 
Pennsylvania Early Warning System Intervention Catalog Project
February 2013
 
ESP is working with Double Line Parters on The Pennsylvania Early Warning System Intervention Catalog project to compile information about interventions available within Phase I districts for at-risk students. This information will be made available to Phase I district staff for possible use with students identified as at-risk in an Early Warning System dashboard provided to teachers.
 

 
ESP Launches P20W (Pre-Kindergarten thru Workforce) Forum

January 2013
 
P20WForum.info is hosted and sponsored by the content experts at ESP Solutions Group, Inc. This is an open forum, web resource for anyone in the space where individuals’ data are shared across agencies. We heard from the P20W community that the resources you need and seek on the web and from each other are scattered and difficult to find.  So this social media site is our way to facilitate the finding and sharing of best practices.
 

 
Arizona Department of Education – CourseWalk, State Report Manager (SRM), & Teacher-Student-Data-Link
January 2012 
 
ESP is working with the Arizona Department of Education to collect information about the courses taken by all Arizona K-12 students. The first step in this process was the development of a standard Arizona Course Catalog using ESP’s CourseWalk software. Data about students, courses, and teachers are being collected from school districts using ESP’s State Report Manager (SRM).
 

 
Pennsylvania Department of Education – Data Inventory
December 2011 in Pennsylvania Department Of Education
Using DataSpecs (an ESP metadata inventory tool), ESP worked with the PDE to document all of the data elements, data definitions, codes, and formats for all of the data collections, repositories and outputs.
 

 
U.S. Department of Education – State Education information Systems Support (SEISS)
2011 
 
As a subcontractor to AEM Corporation and during the first year of the SEISS Project, ESP staff members participated in 17 site visits to state education agencies for the purpose of documenting current practices related to the submission of data to the federal system called EDFacts and for providing technical assistance.
 

 
New Hampshire Department of Education – EDFActs Design for State Data Warehouse
December 2011 in New Hampshire Department of Education
 
Working as a subcontractor to CELT, ESP is providing expertise on how to incorporate EDFacts reporting requirements into the state data warehouse under development.
 

 
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education – EDFacts Reporting System
November 2011 in Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
 
The deployment of a system to assist DESE with their federal EDFacts reporting. ESP will analyze and document current DESE EDFacts reporting processes and sources. Procedures will be built to load the appropriate staging tables (unit or aggregate) based on DESE sources. ESP will build 35 SSRS reports formatted similarly to the EDFacts CSV submission format to aide DESE in their data quality reviews.
 

 
Pennsylvania Department of Education – OIT Application Inventory
August 2011 in Pennsylvania Department Of Education
 
ESP created the PDE OIT Application Inventory after inventory data stewards.
 

 
University of Tennessee Center for Business and Economic Research – P20 Tennessee Longitudinal Data System
August 2011 in University of Tennessee Center for Business and Economic Research
 
ESP and its subcontractors are developing a P20 TLDS which will include data from the TN DOE, TN Higher Education Commission, and the TN Department of Labor & Workforce Development
 

 
Texas Education Agency – Reports Pertaining to Student-Teacher Data Links
June 2011 in Texas Education Agency
 
ESP designed and documented proposed reports pertaining to student-teacher data links. Documentation included data elements, data source, and potential use.
 

 
Alaska Department of Education & Early Development – Secondary Course Code Alignment Project
May 2011 in Alaska Department of Education & Early Development
 
ESP helped EED develop a statewide course catalogue and coding structure, including courses not in SCED. ESP then trained school districts to upload and map their courses to the statewide course coding structure using CourseWalk.
 

 
Delaware Department of Education – Delaware Insight Warehouse Project
April 2011 in Delaware Department of Education (DDOE)
 
ESP is gathering requirements, designing and implementing a data warehouse for the Delaware Department of Education. Data from the DDOE Insight Warehouse will be fed to the DDOE Portal. In the process, ESP is also developing a data dictionary and working with DDOE on Data governance.
 

 
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education – MOSIS Phase IV – Missouri Comprehensive Data System
March 2011 in Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
 
ESP is working with DESE to design, develop, and deploy MCDS; a longitudinal data management system and reporting portal.
 

 
Pennsylvania Department of Education – Electronic Transcript Consulting
December 2010 in Pennsylvania Department of Education
 
ESP worked with PDE, PA Higher Education, and various agencies to identify the essential elements for inclusion in an electronic transcript for different levels.
 

 
Pennsylvania Department of Education – Data Governance Consulting
November 2010 in Pennsylvania Department Of Education
 
ESP provided various types of support on data governance to PDE, including the development of an ISInsight diagram, review of confidentiality materials, and data governance planning.
 

 
Montana Office of Public Instruction – Data Governance Development
June 2010 in Montana Office of Public Instruction
 
ESP assisted OPI in documenting the approach, requirements and planning necessary for the development of a Data Governance implementation project.
 

 
Montana Office of Public Instruction – SLDS Planning
May 2010 in Montana Office of Public Instruction
 
ESP developed the requirements for a Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) for Montana OPI. The SLDS Planning project’s primary goal was to establish the requirements and procurement process for a statewide longitudinal data warehouse for education data. ESP also delivered the subsequent RFP that was used to evaluate bidders for the implementation of the data warehouse and associated tools.
 

 
Louisiana Department of Education – LEDRS/DataSpecs/EDFacts Submissions
March 2010 in Louisana Department of Education
 
ESP, along with the Center for Educational Leadership and Technology (CELT) building longitudinal data system based (LDS) on a Microsoft Server platform including; SQL Server, Windows Server, and Microsoft network environment. The LDS will take full advantage of this existing infrastructure and internal capacity within the LDOE. The LEDRS project will involve moving data from approximately 26 data sources into the LDS and allowing reporting to support the EdFacts/EDEN and other high priority LDOE reports.
 

 
Wyoming Department of Education – Statewide Contract for Electronic Transcripts
February 2010 in Wyoming Department of Education
 
The National Transcript Center (when it was a division of ESP) won a contract to provide electronic transcript/record exchange for every K-12 school and college/university in the state of Wyoming, and support Wyoming’s state scholarship program as well as K-20 tracking of students.
 

 
Idaho State Department of Education – Data System Redesign Requirements Planning
September 2009 in Idaho State Department of Education
ESP reviewed the current data management practices and policies and provided updated data system redesign requirements documents.
 

 
Oklahoma State Department of Education – Longitudinal Data System PLanning
July 2009 in Oklahoma State Department Of Education
 
ESP has been hired by the Oklahoma State Department of Education to establish a plan for their Longitudinal Data System. ESP will provide professional services and expertise in the areas of data standards, data exchange, confidentiality, and reporting.
 

 
Alaska Department of Education & Early Development – SRM/SIF Implementation
July 2009 in Alaska Department of Education & Early Development
 
ESP worked with the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development to improve their longitudinal data system. Work included in the agreement involves ESP’s D3M Information Systems Architecture, DataSpecs (for metadata inventory), State Report Manager (for data collection), and configuration and implementation of the Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF).
 

 
Idaho Department of Education – Implementing State Report Manager for Statewide Data Collections
June 2009 in Idah Department of Education
 
The Idaho Department of Education has chosen ESP’s State Report Manager product to improve statewide data collections. SRM will become part of the larger Idaho Basic Education Data System (IBEDS).

 
Ohio Department of Education – SIF Gap Analysis
May 2009 in Ohio Department of Education
 
ESP is providing the DOE with a comprehensive SIF gap analysis of EMIS and related data collections, supporting the state’s efforts to transition Education Management Information System (EMIS) collections to use the Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF) specification.
 

 
Texas Education Agency – Statewide Contract for Electronic Transcripts
April 2009 in Texas Education Agency
 
The National Transcript Center (when it was a division of ESP) won the contract to develop and deploy the Texas Records Exchange System (TREx). The system will allow every Texas public school district to transfer student records in an electronic format to other schools in Texas. In addition, districts can send high school transcripts to every public college and university in the state of Texas electronically through the SPEEDE Server at The University of Texas at Austin, at no cost to the district.
 

 
Johns Hopkins University – Data Inventory
January 2009 in Maryland – Johns Hopkins University
 
Using DataSpecs (an ESP metadata inventory tool), ESP worked with the DOE to standardize data definitions, codes, and formats which facilitates the sharing of information across all applications without the need to reformat data time and time again.
 

 
EdVance Inc. – Data Collection
January 2009 in EdVance Inc.
ESP worked with Edvance Inc. on a project sponsored by the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation. The project focused on developing and collecting data on actionable indicators for use by participating school districts to improve decision making.
 

 
Delaware Department of Education – Data Inventory
January 2009 in Delaware Department of Education (DDOE)
 
Using DataSpecs (an ESP metadata inventory tool), ESP worked with the DOE to standardize definitions, codes, and formats which facilitates the sharing of information across all applications without the need to reformat data time and time again.
 

 
New Hampshire Department of Education – i4see Data Management
October 2008 in New Hampshire Department of Education
 
ESP documented the i4see data management policies and procedures in regard to student data access and data verification.
 

 
Idaho State Department of Education – DataSpecs Data Collection Inventory
October 2008 in Idaho State Department of Education
 
ESP gathered information on each collection currently in use, documented the details of those needed to support core state and federal reports, and built a data dictionary from these details.
 

 
Idaho State Department of Education – Information Systems Architecture
October 2008 in Idaho State Department of Education
 
ESP produced a reference to which everyone goes when a decision needs to be made regarding the technology, standards, systems, and policies that guide the use of data within the Idaho State Department of Education for data-driven decision making.
 

 
Idaho Department of Education – Improve Data Management
June 2008 in Idaho Department of Education
 
In an effort to greatly improve data management, ESP provided D3M Information System Architecture (ISA) services, a DataSpecs data collection inventory, and a data system redesign requirements plan.
 

 
South Carolina Department of Education – Statewide SIF Implementation
May 2008 in South Carolina Department of Education
 
ESP partnered with Edustructures to expand horizontal SIF functionality in all 89 SC districts.
 

 
Houston Independent School District – Disaster Prevention and Recovery Plan Development
January 2008 in Houston Independent School District
 
ESP developed a business continuation plan to help HISD accomplish specific recovery goals should a disaster occur.
 

 
Delaware Department of Education – Strategic Data Management Plan
November 2007 in Delaware Department of Education (DDOE)
 
ESP provided the DOE with strategic planning and architecture for enterprise data management. This work included enterprise data inventory, data dictionary development, and metadata mapping services.
 

 
Connecticut Department of Education – Longitudinal Data System
September 2007 in Connecticut Department of Education
 
ESP developed a statewide longitudinal education data system for the State. The new system utilizes ESP’s State Report Manager and other decision support dissemination tools to meet the increasing demands for education data and enables CSDE stakeholders to make informed decisions based on timely and accurate information.
 

 
Rhode Island Department of Education – Statewide SIF Implementation
May 2007 in Rhode Island Department Of Education
 
ESP Solutions Group implemented SIF (Schools Interoperability Framework) statewide in Rhode Island. The primary goal of this project was to use SIF to automate the vertical reporting of data from CSIS (Consortium Student Information System) through ESP’s State Report Manager to the RIDE data warehouse.
 

 
West Virginia Department of Education – Statewide Contract for Electronic Transcripts
February 2007 in West Virginia Department of Education
 
The National Transcript Center (when it was a division of ESP) won a contract to provide statewide electronic transcript/record exchange for the state of West Virginia.
 

 
Texas Education Service Center Region 10 – Data Warehouse Consultation and Implementation Expertise
December 2006 in Texas Education Service Center Region 10
 
ESP documented the specifications, architecture, and requirements for a data warehouse to serve the needs of Education Service Center Region 10 and its clients.
 

 
Maine Department of Education – Data Inventory
November 2006 in Maine Department of Education
 
Using DataSpecs (an ESP metadata inventory tool), ESP worked with the DOE to standardize data definitions, codes, and formats which facilitates the sharing of information across all applications without the need to reformat data time and time again.
 

 
Pennsylvania Department of Education – Portal Project
November 2006 in Pennsylvania Department Of Education
 
ESP are the expert advisers to PDE’s statewide education portal project.
 

 
South Carolina Department of Education – Enterprise Architecture
October 2006 in South Carolina Department of Education
 
ESP worked with SDE to document the enterprise architecture of future data management systems.
 

 
South Carolina Department of Education – Horizontal SIF Pilot
October 2006 in South Carolina Department of Education
 
ESP worked with Edustructures to pilot horizontal SIF functionality and electronic transcript exchange (National Transcript Center) in three districts.
 

 
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education – MOSIS Phase III
October 2006 in Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
 
ESP worked with DESE to replace existing aggregate core data collections with record-level collections through ESP’s State Report Manager. ESP also helped DESE develop a training system that provides new and updated training for users of the MOSIS system. Use of the MOSIS system is ongoing and new data collections are being added over time.
 

 
Pennsylvania Department of Education – Statewide Student Identifier System
September 2006 in Pennsylvania Department Of Education
 
ESP designed and implemented a new statewide student identifier system for the DOE. The project, PAsecureID, involved creating unique, permanent, and anonymous student identifiers for each of the 1.8 million public school students in the state and is part of a larger education data management initiative called the Pennsylvania Information Management System (PIMS).
 

 
Oregon Department of Education – Data Inventory
August 2006 in Oregon Department of Education
 
Using DataSpecs (an ESP metadata inventory tool), ESP worked with the DOE to standardize data definitions, codes, and formats which facilitates the sharing of information across all applications without the need to reformat data time and time again.
 

 
California Department of Education – Data Dictionary Development
July 2006 in California Department of Education
 
ESP built the DOE’s data dictionary to standardize definitions, codes, and formats of data so that they can be shared across all applications without reformatting.
 

 
South Carolina Department of Education – South Carolina Student Unique Number System (SC SUNS)
June 2006 in South Carolina Department of Education
 
ESP led the first successful statewide SIF project, deploying a ZIS, a SASI agent, and a Student Locator Agent in each district connected to a student record ID system at the state.
 

 
Rhode Island Department of Education – Data Warehouse Design and Implementation
June 2006 in Rhode Island Department Of Education
 
ESP lead the effort to provide the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education with centralized application software and analytical data tools across state and local education agencies. Within the project, ESP’s State Report Manager was used for state data collections.
 

 
Center for Technology in Education at Johns Hopkins University – Longitudinal Student Data System Research
June 2006 in Maryland – Center for Technology in Education at Johns Hopkins University
 
ESP was commissioned to research and document the need for a PK-20 DOE longitudinal student data system. ESP also interviewed Institution(s) of Higher Education (IHE) representatives about potential participation in and uses of a PK-20 student data system.
 

 
Cherry Creek School District – Information Flow Study
June 2006 in Colorado – Cherry Creek School District
 
ESP created an information flow diagram, documented how data are collected and shared across schools and offices, and recommended modifications for efficiency.
 

 
Oregon Department of Education – Adequate Yearly Progress Consulting Services
May 2006 in Oregon Department of Education
 
ESP examined internal business processes used in the production of Oregon’s Adequate Yearly Progress/Report Card. ESP reviewed current ODE technical processes and procedures and provided suggestions for improvement, resulting in better communication with school districts and better quality data.
 

 
El Paso Independent School District – Professional Consulting
November 2005 in Official El Paso Independent School District
 
ESP reviewed the District’s data quality needs and recommended solutions.
 

 
Boston Public Schools – Application Inventory
October 2005 in Maternal & Child Health Program, BUSPH
 
ESP assisted the incoming CIO by organizing an inventory of all applications and systems.
 

 
McKinney Independent School District – Long-Term Strategic Technology Plan
September 2005 in McKinney Independent School District
 
Under a contract with The Sextant Group, ESP helped develop a long-term technology plan for McKinney ISD. ESP gathered information system requirements, developed technical standards and tools, and analyzed issues pertaining to data confidentiality and access.
 

 
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education – MOSIS Phase II – State Report Manager Pre-Code
September 2005 in State of Missouri Elementary and Secondary Ed Department
 
Using ESP’s State Report Manager, Missouri DESE receives electronic information for assessment precoding for all of its 524 school districts. This process dramatically improves the quality of data thus saving the State money.
 

 
Wyoming Department of Education – Re-calibration Project
July 2005 in Wyoming Department of Education
 
ESP provided on-site system and process reviews related to data gathering and reporting at 48 local school districts. The reviews identified areas needing improvement for gathering and reporting data needed for the Education Resource Block Grant Model.
 

 
Houston Independent School District – Long-Term Strategic Technology Plan
June 2005 in Houston Independent School District
 
ESP assessed the district’s current instructional technology and business systems environment to determine the long-term objectives and provide a framework for successful technology and data integration initiatives.
 

 
Alaska Department of Education & Early Development – Data Dictionary Development
March 2005 in Alaska Department of Education & Early Development
 
ESP revamped Alaska’s OASIS data dictionary to standardize definitions, codes, and formats of data so that they can be shared across all applications without reformatting. ESP also advised the state on strategic planning considerations.
 

 
Wyoming Department of Education – Statewide K-12 Data Management System and Statewide SIF Implementation
February 2005 in Wyoming Department of Education
 
ESP is leading a project to build and implement the country’s most sophisticated statewide K-12 data management system. The system is based on technologies compliant with Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF) specifications and includes ESP’s State Report Manager for reporting, a SIF-based student and staff record ID system, Zone Integration Servers throughout the state, and the installation and configuration of up to 10 SIF agents for every district in the state.
 

 
Missouri State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education – MOSIS Phase I – Statewide Student Identification System
February 2005 in State of Missouri Elementary and Secondary Ed Department
 
ESP led the effort to design and implement a statewide student identifier and locator system. Missouri’s new system generates, stores, assigns, and locates student identifiers.

 
 
Nebraska Department of Education – Statewide Student Data System
November 2004 in Nebraska Department of Education
 
Under a contract with Deloitte Consulting, ESP provided their expertise for the data dictionary, data submissions, and data management components.
 

 
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education – State Strategic Planning
October 2004 in State of Missouri Elementary and Secondary Ed Department
 
ESP was brought on to assist the Missouri Department of Elementary & Secondary Education in scoping and planning future data systems.
 

 
Departamento de Educación de Puerto Rico – AYP Reporting
September 2004 in Departamento De Educación
 
Calculate, graph, and report Adequate Yearly Progres for No Child Left Behind
 

 
The University of Texas at Austin – Online Assessment Project
August 2004 in The University of Texas at Austin
 
ESP provided psychometric analysis and consultation for the design and implementation of an on-line diagnostic assessment for the State’s graduation exam.
 

 
Wyoming Department of Education – WISE System Requirements Study
June 2004 in Wyoming Department of Education
 
ESP led a team that designed the requirements for Wyoming’s future statewide SIF-based information system.
 

 
Kansas State Department of Education – Professional Consulting
June 2004 in Kansas State Department of Education
 
ESP was engaged by the Kansas State Department of Education to advise on near and long term data systems design and acquisition.
 

 
Name Change to ESP Solutions Group
February 2004
 
After 10 years as Evaluation Software Publishing, Inc., the company changed its name to ESP Solutions Group, Inc.
 

 
Colorado Department of Education – Longitudinal Growth Study
2004 in Colorado Department of Education
 
ESP provided professional consulting to the Technical Advisory Committee on longitudinal growth.
 

 
U.S. Department of Education – EDEN State Education Agency Site Visits
2003 in U.S. Department of Education
 
ESP staff visited all 52 state education agencies and documented their capacity to submit data for the U.S. Department of Education’s Performance Based Data Management Initiative (PBDMI), now called the Education Data Exchange Network (EDEN). ESP assisted the SEA in identifying source data files and gaps between their data standards and the federal requirements.
 

 
Iowa Department of Education – Statewide Student Identification System
December 2003 in Iowa Department of Education
 
ESP led the statewide project to identify each student using a unique student identification number in order to facilitate the state’s ability to follow enrollment, test scores, and other factors as a student graduates or moves.
 

 
Virginia Department of Education – Student Assessment and Education Data System Design
November 2003 in Virginia Department of Education
 
ESP was engaged as the prime contractor to assist with the design of their new statewide student and education information system. ESP provided professional consulting services on the specifications and design of the system which included meeting facilitation, metadata dictionary review, development of formal presentations for the Governor and key advisory groups.
 

 
Georgia Department of Education – Professional Consulting
May 2003 in Georgia Department of Education
 
ESP provided the DOE with professional consulting services on statewide student identifiers.
 

 
Nevada Department of Education – Professional Consulting
March 2003 in Nevada Department of Education
 
ESP developed custom software to allow schools to create and submit their annual report card data to the DOE.
 

 
Oklahoma State Department of Education – Statewide Student Record System Design
February 2003 in Oklahoma State Department Of Education
 
ESP delivered an array of services after facilitating an extensive series of meetings with the Steering Committee, Project Team, and individual program staffs. A requirements document designed to be the basis for a request for proposals was the main deliverable in which an overall system, estimated costs, implementation guidelines and training materials were recommended.
 

 
New York State Education Department – Student Identifier Consulting
December 2002 in New York State Education Department
 
ESP facilitated stakeholder meetings and provided recommendations on statewide student identifiers.
 

 
Austin Independent School District – Custom Software Development
November 2002 in Austin Independent School District – Headquarters
 
ESP designed, developed, and maintained software for AISD to produce custom school profiles.
 

 
Georgia Department of Education – Adequate Yearly Progress Calculations
September 2002 in Georgia Department of Education
 
ESP provided models for adequate yearly progress calculations to inform the adoption of standards for No Child Left Behind implementation.
 

 
California Department of Education – Data Management and Implementation Plan
July 2002 in California Department of Education
 
As a subcontractor to MGT of America, ESP provided expert services in the areas of best practices, decision support systems, and data residency and security.
 

 
Oklahoma State Department of Education – Data Dictionary Development
May 2002 in Oklahoma State Department Of Education
 
ESP built the State Department of Education’s data dictionary to standardize definitions, codes, and formats of data so that they can be shared across all applications without reformatting.
 

 
New Jersey Department of Education – Annual Report Cards
March 2002 in New Jersey Department Of Education
 
ESP produced the annual school report cards for New Jersey schools with a seven-year perspective.
 

 
Colorado Department of Education – Statewide Student Identifiers
March 2002 in Colorado Department of Education
 
ESP developed guidelines and standards for student identifiers for the DOE.
 

 
Nebraska Department of Education – Data Dictionary Development
February 2002 in Nebraska Department of Education
 
ESP built the DOE’s data dictionary to standardize definitions, codes, and formats of data so that they can be shared across all applications without reformatting.
 

 
Minnesota Department of Education – Data Dictionary
February 2002 in Minnesota Department of Education
 
ESP built the DOE’s data dictionary to standardize definitions, codes, and formats of data so that they can be shared across all applications without reformatting.
 

 
Massachusetts Department of Education – Professional Consulting
February 2002 in Massachusetts Department of Higher Education
 
ESP reviewed and provided recommendations on statewide student identifiers, confidentiality, and data standards.
 

 
Nebraska Department of Education – Professional Consulting
February 2002 in Nebraska Department of Education
 
ESP provided statewide strategic planning expertise to the DOE.
 

 
Fund for Colorado’s Future – Tech Tools Training
June 2001
 
ESP provided software for schools to analyze their CSAP performance and school ratings on the School Accountability Report. ESP worked with FFCF to implement a Gates Foundation Grant for school improvement.
 

 
Colorado DOE, Fund for Colorado’s Future, and Colorado’s Governor’s Office – Annual School Accountability Report
May 2001
 
ESP designed the formulas for calculating school ratings for the annual School Accountability Reports.
 

 
Texas Education Agency and Texas Center for Education Research – On-Line Technology Survey
February 2000 in Texas Education Agency and Texas Center for Education Research
 
The National Transcript Center (when it was a division of ESP) won the contract to develop and deploy the Texas Records Exchange System (TREx). The system will allow every Texas public school district to transfer student records in an electronic format to other schools in Texas. In addition, districts can send high school transcripts to every public college and university in the state of Texas electronically through the SPEEDE Server at The University of Texas at Austin, at no cost to the district.
 

 
Austin Independent School District – Professional Consulting
February 2000 in Austin Independent School District
 
ESP performed an audit of current PEIMS data for The District.
 

 
New Hampshire Department of Education – Dropout Data Collection
December 1999 in New Hampshire Department of Education
 
ESP developed processes and software for automating the data collection of dropouts.
 

 
Mississippi Department of Education – Data Dictionary Development
February 1999 in Mississippi Department of Education
 
ESP built the DOE’s data dictionary to standardize definitions, codes, and formats of data so that they can be shared across all applications without reformatting.
 

 
Massachusetts Department of Education – Statewide Student Identification System
April 1998 in Massachusetts Department of Education
 
ESP worked with MA DOE to build one of the first web-based, record-level data collection and state student ID assignment systems in the US. ESP provided guidance in formulating policies, procedures, and standards associated with that effort.
 

 
Hawaii Department of Education – Professional Services
January 1998 in Hawaii Department of Education
 
ESP provided professional consultation on processes for ensuring data quality.
 

 
Little Rock School District – Professional Consulting
January 1998 in Arkansas – Little Rock School District
 
ESP consulted with the District on strategic direction for information for decision making.
 

 
Wake County Public School System – Consulting Services
April 1997 in Wake County Public School System
 
ESP provided consulting services for the Benchmark Project regarding extant databases, priorities, and future directions.
 

 
Kentucky Department of Education – Migrant Education Consulting
January 1997 in Kentucky Department of Education
 
ESP provided professional consultation services on how to improve the record keeping for migrant education students.
 

 
Alaska Department of Education & Early Development – Consolidation of Data Collections
January 1997 in Alaska Department of Education & Early Development
 
ESP and WestEd consulted with DOE to document data collections and recommend consolidations and data standards to reduce burden and improve data quality. This was preliminary work for the creation of OASIS.
 

 
Massachusetts Department of Education – Data Dictionary Development
February 1996 in Massachusetts Department of Higher Education
 
ESP built MA DOEs data dictionary to standardize definitions, codes, and formats of data so that they can be shared across all applications without reformatting.
 

 
District of Columbia – Migrant SPEEDE/ExPress Pilot
February 1996 in U.S. Department of Education
 
ESP designed and implemented a pilot for the exchange of migrant student records. Working on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education, ESP designed an innovative program and installed hardware, software, and electronic capabilities for six school districts in five states: Arizona, California, Florida, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
 

 
Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction – Data Dictionary Development
January 1996 in Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)
 
ESP built the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s data dictionary to standardize definitions, codes, and formats of data so that they can be shared across all applications without reformatting.
 

 
California Department of Educaiton – CBEDS Analysis
January 1996 in California Department of Education
 
ESP conducted an analysis of the CBED data collection to document data definitions and formats. Other DOE collections were also analyzed to recommend development of standards that later influenced CSIS.
 

 
US Department of Education – Migrant SPEEDE/ExPress Pilot
1996 in Arizona, California, Florida, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania with the US Department of Education
 
ESP designed and implemented a pilot for the exchange of migrant student records. Working on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education, ESP designed an innovative program and installed hardware, software, and electronic capabilities for six school districts in five states: Arizona, California, Florida, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
 

 
U.S. Department of Education – USED/NCES Data Dictionary
January 1995 in U.S. Department of Education
 
ESP catalogued and described over 900 data collections for the U.S. Department of Education (USED), and over 15.000 data elements, linked to their counterpart in National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) data handbooks. This work provided the foundation for EDEN and EDFacts reporting.
 

 
Nevada Department of Education – SMART System Development
January 1995 in Nevada Department Of Education
 
ESP worked with WestEd to design and implement SMART, Nevada’s first statewide individual student record collection.
 

 
San Antonio Independent School District
June 1993 in San Antonio ISD
 
Implemented Success Finder to evaluate multiple compensatory education programs by creating an early longitudinal database
 

 
Fort Worth Independent School District
June 1993 in Fort Worth ISD
 
Documented the District’s data definitions across information systems to find redundancies and create a common dictionary in ESP’s first Periodicity application contract.
 

 
Nevada Department of Education – Annual Report Cards
June 1993 in Nevada Department of Education
 
ESP developed custom software to allow schools to create and submit their annual report card data to the DOE.
 

 
ESP Opens for Business
March 1, 1993

 
Founded on January 19, 1993
January 19, 1993