The Student-Centered Reporting Solution is extremely cost effective

We can maintain all the benefits of this solution affordably because it is a grassroots, community-driven effort with no profit motive AND we are intelligently using the latest technologies.

Membership Fee Structure

 
membership2.jpg
 

These fees include access for all internal and external users of a member district and everything described on the Features page. This is a grassroots collaborative effort, so our only ask is that members share the functionality built as part of this project with each other.

All district on-boarding is free through August 2021!

This is based on a special donation of the Ed-Fi Alliance and offsets costs that typically range from $2500-$5000 per district. If you are interested in joining this work, please take advantage!

How We Keep the Costs Low

  • Database Costs: This project utilizes Postgres, an open source database, and as such has no associated licensing fees.

  • Data Transfer Costs:  This project uses the Ed-Fi data standard, which means that the cost for bringing data into the system from student information systems, assessment vendors, and other edtech products is substantially reduced for those systems using the standard.  This is important because if data transfer costs are high / difficult to automate, it will create a barrier to using key data to inform both accountability and teaching and learning.

  • Data Visualization Costs:  This project utilizes Google Data Studio - this tool is free right now and, even at scale, should never exceed $8 per district per month - and this includes both licensing for internal use and public-facing websites.  (Note: tools such as Amazon Quicksight and Tableau charge based on usage for public-facing reports). This tool is also extremely developer friendly, so unlike some open-source options, it would not substantially increase the cost of all new development.  Moreover, this tool is analyst friendly, anyone who has the skillset to use a tool like MS Excel or Tableau would be able to create reports using Google Data Studio.  Ample training modules are available online.

  • Customization Costs:  Everything Ed-Fi is now also part of the open source community, so any dashboard reports, data transfer utilities, or other technology assets built by any other districts in the community across the country are potentially re-usable for this project - and we have already benefited from this. For example, the NWEA MAP reporting in this release was possible because we are repurposing community assets.

  • Competency-based Data Capture Costs:  This project benefits from the donation and integration of software from the non-profit MasteryTrack.  There are no licensing fees associated with the use of this software beyond the membership fee structure for the dashboard.

  • System Maintenance:  We are working with the Ed-Fi Alliance to identify a suitable non-profit partner to keep costs low in this area and are currently receiving pro-bono support while we make this transition.