appendix a – supported browsers.doc.doc

Getting Started with the Data Warehouse

September 2007


Table of Contents

Introduction.....................................................................................................................3

Logging on to the Security Portal..................................................................................5

Running the Tutorial.....................................................................................................10

Predefined Reports and Analysis Cubes....................................................................11

Running a Predefined Report.......................................................................................12

Scheduling a Predefined Report..................................................................................16

Exploring an Analysis Cube.........................................................................................18

Saving an Analysis View..............................................................................................27

Exiting Power Play........................................................................................................27

Providing Your Feedback.............................................................................................28

Additional Resources...................................................................................................28

Appendix A – Supported Browsers.............................................................................29

Massachusetts Department of Education of 30


IntroductionThe Education Data Warehouse is a collaborative effort of the Massachusetts Department of Education and local school districts to centralize K-12 educational performance data into one state coordinated data repository hosted by the Department. The purposes of the data warehouse are to:

Place the use of robust, timely performance data at the core of educational decision-making.

Reduce district burden and streamline data practices.

Improve district data capabilities by providing resources and technical assistance.

Provide data for planning, policy and management at the state and local levels.

The project’s long-term goal is to provide every district and school with the ability to easily query and analyze their organization's state-maintained data (SIMS, MCAS, MEPA, and eventually Educator data), and to provide districts with the option to load and analyze their own data.

What Is A Data Warehouse? A data warehouse is a repository of data from many sources. Unlike a typical "transactional" system used for day-to-day operations, a data warehouse is structured to maintain large amounts of related, historical data for analysis and reporting. A data warehouse provides for easy reconstruction of "snapshots" of historical data, as well as the ability to link such snapshots over time using certain criteria.

Why Do We Need A Data Warehouse? Improving educational performance and accountability depends on understanding the relationships among areas such as curricula, assessments, special programs, teacher qualifications, program spending, discipline incidents and attendance. With our current systems it is difficult to cross-reference student-to-teacher, student-to-course, or student-to-program information. Without the ability to link data, state and local decision-makers cannot leverage the full potential of the information we collect and process.

The data warehouse is a "longitudinal data system" capable of linking student, teacher and financial information over multiple years, across multiple schools and districts. Using the warehouse, Department and district decision-makers can take key metrics from multiple areas and analyze them in a single view. For example:

What are the results of program participation in terms of achievement?

Which programs targeted at which student population have the greatest impact?



What Data Is Available In The Warehouse? The Department has loaded MCAS/MEPA and SIMS data from 2002 to the present into the warehouse. A number of pilot districts have loaded local data, including student, course, staff, grades, schedules, and local assessments.

Figure 1 - Warehouse Data Sources

As the warehouse is rolled out, more districts will be able to load additional student, course and staff data. The warehouse may also be expanded to include discipline and attendance detail, financial, and program data. The primary source of warehoused data will be school/district administrative systems, including SIS, Gradebook, HR and Finance systems. Districts can periodically upload data to the warehouse as needed. The data warehouse will provide districts with the ability to maintain large amounts of integrated, historical data for analysis and reporting.

This document is intended to help warehouse end-users (administrators and other data analysts) get started with using the warehouse’s web-based reporting and analysis tools. For additional assistance, contact the data warehouse project team at [email protected].


mailto:[email protected]


Logging on to the Security PortalIn order to connect to the data warehouse, you must first have a security portal account, and be authorized to use the data warehouse. Contact your local Directory Administrator to obtain the required authorization. A complete list of Directory Administrators is available online at http://www.doe.mass.edu/infoservices/data/diradmin/list.asp.

Supported browsers for Cognos Connection are listed in Appendix A – Supported Browsers.

To log on to the security portal:

1. Using your web browser, connect to http://www.doe.mass.edu.

2. From the navigation menu at the upper right, select Security Portal and click on the orange arrow button .


http://www.doe.mass.edu/

http://www.doe.mass.edu/infoservices/data/diradmin/list.asp

http://www.doe.mass.edu/infoservices/data/diradmin/list.asp


The DOE Security Portal login page displays.

3. Type in your username and password and then click the Login button.

If your login is successful, the DOE Security Portal welcome page displays.

If you are an authorized data warehouse user, a Data Warehouse link displays on the portal page.

If you do not see this link, check with local Directory Administrator to ensure you are authorized to use the data warehouse. Your Directory Administrator can contact the data warehouse team at [email protected] to resolve authorization problems.




Connecting to the Data WarehouseOnce you are logged on to the security portal and you have data warehouse authorization, you can connect to the data warehouse:

1. Click on the Data Warehouse link. The data warehouse Welcome page displays:

This page appears when you first login, and is also included in the default tabs for users who have never logged in to the data warehouse. If you have previously logged into the data warehouse, you can add this page to your list of tabs by clicking on Add to my portal tabs when the page first display.

You can add the Welcome page to your tabs at anytime by following these steps:

a. Click on Public Folders | DOE Portlets

b. Click on More… to the right of the Welcome page item in the folder

c. Click on Add to my portal tabs. The Welcome tab will appear at the right side of your tab list.



d. To change the tab sequence, click on the tab menu at the left side of your tab list, and select Modify the sequence…

e. To set the Welcome tab as you home page, click on the home options

menu above and to the right of your tab list.

If the Welcome page fails to display, there may be a problem with your data warehouse authorization. For further assistance, send an email to [email protected].

Cognos Connection is a web portal used to create and run reports against the data warehouse. The options displayed on the warehouse portal are dependent on your authorization level. All users will see:

Public Folders – contains public reports and analysis cubes

My Folders – available for report you create

Public Folders contains files of interest to many users, including predefined reports and analysis cubes. My Folders are personal folders that you can organize according to your preferences.




2. Click on the Public Folders tab to display the contents:

Public Folders contains the following subfolders:

District Folders contains a folder for each district, with access restricted to district members. District administrators can create additional subfolders that are restricted by School.

The DOE MCAS Reports folder contains predefined reports provided by the Department.

The DOE Cubes folder contains PowerPlay analysis cubes for exploring state-loaded data.

The District Data Upload Validation folder contains predefined reports used by districts to validate and accept uploaded local data.

The blue folders are reporting packages for use by report authors; most users can ignore these folders.

For additional information on using Cognos Connection see:

Cognos Connection Quick Tour accessible from the QuickTour link on the Help menu.

Cognos 8 Business Intelligence Getting Guide accessible from the Help menu.



Running the TutorialThe portal includes a Computer Based Tutorial (CBT) titled Cognos QuickStart for School Administration. This tutorial includes basic training on Cognos Connection and PowerPlay for school administrators. The system requirements for the CBT include:

Windows NT 4.0, 2000, or XP Minimum Pentium 233 Minimum 64 MB RAM 1024 X 768 screen resolution Internet Explorer 5.5/6.0, ActiveX enabled Macromedia Shockwave Player 8.0 installed (included with the CBT)

To run the tutorial:

1. Login to the data warehouse and click on Welcome tab.

2. Click on CBT - QuickStart for School Administration to launch the tutorial.

The tutorial menu page displays.

Complete the tutorial at your own pace. Note that Query Studio is only available to authorized report writers; most users should skip the Query Studio module.



Predefined Reports and Analysis CubesIn Public Folders, the DOE MCAS Reports folder contains predefined reports and the DOE Cubes folder contains analysis cubes

Predefined reports are created using Report Studio. Report Studio provides extensive formatting capabilities, supporting complex report layouts. Predefined reports run against the full data warehouse, which contains millions of student and test item detail records. Depending on their scope, predefined reports can take minutes for hours to complete. Only trained, authorized users have access to Report Studio.

All users have access to Power Play to produce ad-hoc reports against analysis cubes. Analysis cubes contain data summarized multi-dimensionally at the school and district levels. From well-designed cubes, you can create reports in minutes (rather than days, weeks, or months).

Power Play has more limited formatting capabilities, however it supports flexible, multi-dimensional analysis with drill-down. The Power Play analysis cubes also support drill-thru to student detail reports in the full data warehouse.

Table 1 – Comparison of Predefined Report and Cubes

Predefined Reports Analysis Cubes

Data source Detail records in the full data warehouse

Pre-aggregated school and district level

Strengths Formatting and business rule encoding

Student, test item detail

Most recent data

Speed

Flexible, multi-dimensional analysis

Drill up/down

Drill-thru to student detail in the full warehouse

Comparison with Other MCAS Reporting ToolsOther MCAS reporting tools provide a subset of the flexibility of PowerPlay combined with a subset of the formatting available in ReportStudio. These other tools provide flexible, predefined reports for MCAS results only.

The Department will provide predefined MCAS reports, however, many of the features available in these other tools can be reproduced using PowerPlay analysis cubes. Districts that desire the advanced formatting capabilities of Report Studio, can convert their favorite PowerPlay analyses to predefined reports, or submit report requests to the Department.



Running a Predefined ReportPredefined reports run against the full data warehouse (all years, all districts, all schools, all students, all test items). Consequently, predefined reports can take minutes to hours to run, depending on the scope of the query. SIMS and MCAS data changes only a few times per year, so these reports should be run only when the data changes, with the output saved to district folders.

It is recommended that you schedule most predefined reports to run off hours; see Scheduling Predefined Reports. Reports whose scope is limited to single students, schools or smaller districts can be run interactively.

To run a predefined report:

1. Click on the Public Folders tab from the Cognos Connection home page.

2. Click on DOE MCAS Reports to display a list of reports that are available to all users.

To the right of each report is a list icons representing report actions. These actions are summarized in the table below.



Table 2 – Report Actions

Set properties for the report such as the name and description.

Run with options including as output type and delivery method.

Open with Report Studio enabling you to edit the report. Available only to authorized report authors.

Create a report view - a report view shares the same report specification as the source report, but other properties such as

prompt values, schedules, languages, and output formats are independent of the source report.

Schedule report to run at specified times, generating specified output types.

More actions including move, copy, delete, and create shortcut.

3. To run a report, click on the name of the report, for example R-001 District

Item Analysis.

Many of the reports are based on filters you supply. When you run a report, a prompt page similar to the one below displays:


https://dwhsep.doemass.org/crn/documentation/en/ug_cra_ug_cc_rpts3.html#1098062


4. Use the pull-down menus to select prompt values. Required values are marked with an asterisk.

5. Click on the Finish button to run your report.

While your report is processing, an hourglass displays. Wait for the report output to display.

At the top of the report output is a list of icons representing output actions. These actions are summarized in the table below.



Table 3 – Report Output Actions

Save the report as a report view

Send the report by email

Run report

Drill through to another report

View the report in HTML format

View the report in PDF format

View in Excel or CSV format

View in XML format

6. To print a report, click on the View the report in PDF format button .

Depending on your browser settings, Adobe Acrobat may launch

automatically. Click on the Adobe Acrobat print button to print the report. Alternatively, a dialog box may display and prompt you to open or save the file.

Click the Save button to save the report to your computer or another location. From there you will be able to open the file with Adobe Acrobat Reader and print the report.

Click the Open button to open the report in your browser with Adobe Acrobat Reader and print the report.



Scheduling a Predefined ReportPredefined reports run against the full data warehouse (all years, all districts, all schools, all students, all test items). Consequently, predefined reports can take minutes to hours to run, depending on the scope of the query. It is recommended that you schedule reports to run off hours.

To run an existing predefined report:

1. Click on the Public Folders tab from the Cognos Connection home page.

2. Click on DOE MCAS Reports to display reports that are available to all users.

3. Click the schedule button to the right of the report name. The schedule dialog opens.



4. Select the frequency, format and delivery options you desire.

5. Select Save the report as a report view to save the report output to your district folder. A report view shares the same report specification as the source report, but other properties such as prompt values, schedules, languages, and output formats are independent of the source report. Once the scheduled report executes, the report view will appear in your district folder.

6. Click OK to schedule the report.

7. To view the currently scheduled reports, click on Tools | Schedule Management | Schedule.

The Schedule Management page displays.

For additional information on scheduling reports click on the Help link on the Schedule Management page.



Exploring an Analysis CubeCognos Power Play is web-based, multi-dimensional analysis tool available to all data warehouse users. Multi-dimensional analysis is a process where you selectively extract and evaluate multiple aspects of performance against key performance indicators.

An analysis cube is a structure that stores summarized data multi-dimensionally and provides secure data access and fast retrieval of data.

Selective transaction data records for your district are gathered, summarized, organized, and presented in the way you think about your student performance questions.

Warehouse administrators package data into cubes, typically referred to as multi-dimensional data cubes. From well-designed cubes, you can create reports in minutes (rather than days, weeks, or months).

To open and explore an analysis cube using PowerPlay:

1. Logon to the data warehouse.

2. Click on Public Folders | DOE Cubes.

A list of analysis cubes displays:



3. Click on the name of the analysis cube you wish to open.

The Power Play interface launches and opens the cube in the default view. The data appears in one of these interfaces:

Generic interface - The Generic interface is based on a generic HTML style and is recommended if you use a dial-in Web connection or are accessing larger cubes. This interface is available in all Web browsers.

Enhanced interface - The Enhanced interface is based on enhanced Web Technology support and is available if you use Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher, or Netscape 7.1 (Windows only), as your Web browser.

The Generic interface provides a restricted subject of PowerPlay features. All examples in this document are shown using Internet Explorer and the Enhanced Interface.



Default View

The cube shown above provides MCAS test item results. In the default view, % Correct is displayed for all districts in the cube, for all subjects, all grades and all years.

Dimension Line

The cube dimensions are displayed in the blue menu bar at the top of the screen. This menu bar is called the dimension line. The dimension line reflects the values shown in the rows, columns and cells of the report. The dimension line is used to drill-down or drill-up through the cube.

Dimension Viewer

The dimension viewer in the left panel displays a list of dimensions and measures available in the current cube. The dimension viewer is used to modify the rows, columns and measures displayed on the report.

Tool Bar

The tool bar at the bottom of the window provides additional tools for formatting the report.

Table 4 – Power Play Tool Bar



Crosstab, Indented Crosstab

Chart - Simple Bar, Pie, Clustered Bar, Stacked Bar, Multiline, 3D Bar

Options, Edit Title, Split View, Get Data Later, Reset

Swap rows and columns

Hide/Show

Calculation

Rank

Zero Suppression

80/20 Suppression

Custom Exception Highlighting

Custom Subsets

Drill Through to a predefined warehouse report

Export PDF, Export CSV, Export XLS, Prepare Bookmark

Help, Find, Explain

Save As

Return to Source

Note: Analysis cubes have been setup to Drill Through to a student detail report run against the full data warehouse. To use this feature, narrow your analysis to a

subset of students in your district, and then press the Drill Through button . The report will contain only those student records you are authorized to view.



To drill down to a specific district or school, click on ALL DISTRICTS in the dimension line. A pull-down menu displays:

You can select a specific district or school. Similarly, click on ALL YEARS, ALL SUBJECTS, ALL GRADES, etc to narrow the focus of the reports.

Alternatively, you can drill-down by clicking on a row or column header, or on a cell in the cross-tab.

4. If at any point you wish to drill-back up to higher level of aggregation, you can use to the dimension line to do so.

You can also click the reset button to reset to the highest levels of all dimensions.

5. To change the dimensions displayed in the rows and columns on the report, right-click on a dimension in the dimension viewer in the left panel.

A popup menu displays with choices that include Replace Rows and Replace Columns:



Select Replace Rows or Replace Columns to replace the dimensions on the report. The report redisplays with the new selected dimension:

Alternatively, you can drag and drop dimensions from the dimension viewer to the row or column headers on the report.



To view a different measure, select a measure under MEASURES in the dimension viewer and then drag and drop the measure to the upper-left corner of the cross tab.

To reset the rows, columns and measures to their default settings, click the

options button and select Reset.

6. To view a graphical representation of the report, click on the up arrow next to

the chart icon on the tool bar at the bottom of the window. A popup menu displays with a list of chart types:

Select a chart type from the popup menu. The report re-displays as a chart.



7. Alternatively, you can view both a tabular representation and a chart on the

same report. Click on the options button and select Split View.



The report redisplays with both a chart and table.

For additional information on Power Play multi-dimensional analysis and report formatting, see:

Power Play Web Help accessible from the help menu.

Power Play Web User Guide accessible from the Welcome page.

QuickStart for School Administration CBT accessible from the Welcome page.



Saving an Analysis ViewOnce you have formatted a PowerPlay analysis view, you can save the view for future use.

1. Click on the Save As button in the lower right corner of the screen.

The Save As dialog displays:

2. Type the desired file name in the Name field, and select the desired folder in the Location field.

3. Click OK to save the analysis report.

The report appears as a new file in the selected folder.

Exiting Power PlayOnce you have completed your analysis, you can exit Power Play and return to the folder containing the current cube:

1. Click on the Return to Source button in the lower right corner of the screen.

Power Play closes the cube and Cognos Connection redisplays the source folder.



Providing Your FeedbackThe goal of the data warehouse is to provide a flexible, integrated, longitudinal analysis and reporting system to districts. To get the greatest benefit from the warehouse, district and school leaders need to ask themselves questions such as:

What questions do we need to explore and answer to help drive school improvement?

What questions do we need to explore and answer to help improve school and district administration?

What school and district benchmarks do we want to track?

The next step is to use PowerPlay analyses and predefined reports to produce answers and benchmark reports for your school and district. The Department can provide guidelines for valid statistical comparisons, but it’s up to districts to define their own reporting requirements.

District reporting requirements may require new predefined reports or changes to the warehouse and cube structures, for example, the addition of aggregates or new metrics in analysis cubes. Additionally, districts may want certain data subjects (for example financial data) added to the warehouse.

To submit your feedback and change requests, contact the data warehouse team at [email protected].

Additional ResourcesFor additional information on Cognos Connection see:

Cognos Connection QuickTour accessible from the Help menu.

Cognos 8 Business Intelligence Getting Guide accessible from the Help menu.

For additional information on Power Play multi-dimensional analysis and report formatting, see:

Power Play Web Help accessible from the Power Play help menu or the Welcome tab.

Power Play Web User Guide accessible from the Welcome tab.

QuickStart for School Administration CBT accessible from the Welcome tab.

For additional information on the data warehouse project check the project web page at http://www.doe.mass.edu/infoservices/dw/.


http://www.doe.mass.edu/infoservices/dw/



Appendix A – Supported BrowsersTable 5 – Web Browser Support for Cognos ReportNet 8.2

COGNOS CONNECTION and REPORT VIEWER

OPERATING SYSTEM SUPPORT

Internet Explorer 7.0 Windows 2000/2003/ XP

Active

Internet Explorer 6 SP1 Windows 2000/2003 Compatible

Internet Explorer 6 SP2 Windows XP Compatible

Netscape 7.2 Windows Active

Firefox 1.5 Windows Active

Firefox 1.5 Macintosh Compatible

Firefox 1.5.02 Linux/UNIX Compatible

Firefox 1.0.4+ Windows Compatible

Firefox 1.0.4+ Macintosh/Linux/UNIX

Compatible

Note: MS Office integration is only supported on Windows platforms (i.e. export to Excel)REPORT STUDIO OPERATING SYSTEM SUPPORT

Internet Explorer 7.0 Windows 2000/2003/ XP

Active

Internet Explorer 6 SP1 Windows 2000/2003 Compatible

Internet Explorer 6 SP2 Windows XP Compatible

Table 6 – Web Browser Support Power Play 7.4

POWER PLAY WEB OPERATING SYSTEM SUPPORT

Internet Explorer 7.0 Windows XP Active

Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 Windows 2000/2003 Active

Internet Explorer 6.0 SP2 Windows XP Compatible

Internet Explorer 5.5 SP2 Windows Compatible

Netscape 7.2 Windows Compatible

Firefox 2.0 Macintosh/Windows Active

Firefox 1.5.0.2 Macintosh/Windows Compatible

Firefox 1.0.4 Macintosh/Windows Compatible


appendix a – supported browsers.doc.doc

Documents

historical data

repository of data

data sims

educationalperformance

educator data

data practices

data warehouseseptember

data warehouse appendix