iPlatform Portal Enhances Transparency, Tells NH School Stories

CONCORD – The New Hampshire Department of Education (NH DOE) unveiled a new data reporting system this week – iPlatform for Education – in an effort to present student, school, district, and state data in a more easily accessible and dynamic way. iPlatform features four distinct sections. Three sections of iPlatform – iReport, iExplore, and iDefine – are up and running; a fourth site – iDiscover – will be live next year.

“While we all share the same goal of creating bright futures for Granite State students, how that is accomplished may vary,” said Frank Edelblut, the commissioner of the NH DOE. “We fiercely believe in local control of education; each community shapes unique student educational experiences. The new iPlatform portal will assist everyone in having thought-provoking community conversations about shaping those educational experiences.”

The iReport site includes information that compromises accountability data included in the state’s federal plan as required by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This site offers a quick snapshot of each school district and will replace the previous school profiles and reports.

iExplore includes more dynamic information about individual schools and comparative tools between schools, districts, and state level information. More advanced comparisons are made between data with drill down capability. At this point, iExplore is driven by 15 identified data elements. This list will continue to grow as the NH DOE adds additional exploration metrics, helping communities explore and engage in discussions about education.

In an effort to demystify education acronyms and specific elements, iDefine has been created to help all involved get a better understanding of the information they will be seeing and talking about in their communities.

“This preliminary release is the Bureau of Education Statistics first of many milestones in its efforts to increase accuracy of and access to data, in addition to meeting federal and state reporting requirements,” said Caitlin Davis, the director of the Division of Education Analytics and Resources. “We are excited to be able to support our schools and communities with iPlatform.”

Next month, data for finance, graduation, and college and career-readiness will be added to iReport. Early next year, the NH DOE will release iDiscover – a frequently asked question section – to assist end users with inquiries they may have about the data they are seeing. Next fall, data on military connected students will be added to iReport.

For more information, visit the NH DOE’s iPlatform site.