Value-added data informing and improving TN Schools of Education

Nadja Young
Nadja Young|May 8, 2012

With the rapid changes in our education systems regarding new standards, assessments, accountability and evaluation, teachers are rightfully feeling the pressure of being underprepared. The majority of teachers were not trained or certified with these rigorous systems in place. Recognizing that higher education institutions need to play an active role [...]

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Four E's of crash analytics, part 2: Enforcement

Melissa Savage
Melissa Savage|April 30, 2012

Last week I introduced this series. Today I begin to dive deeper into each of the four E’s. First up? Enforcement. In 2009, there were 5.5 million police-reported traffic crashes.  Law enforcement officers work diligently to prevent crashes by enforcing traffic safety laws pertaining to, among other things, seat belt [...]

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The four E's of crash analytics: Part 1

Melissa Savage
Melissa Savage|April 19, 2012

The leading cause of death for Americans between 5 and 34 isn’t what most would expect.  It’s not disease or acute illness. It’s traffic crashes. The good news is that the number of highway deaths has steadily decreased the last few years, yet crashes still cause more than 30,000 fatalities and [...]

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More than “teaching to the test”: Value-added ROI persists throughout a student’s life

Nadja Young
Nadja Young|March 30, 2012

A 23-year Harvard and Columbia University study was recently published shedding new light on the long-term impacts of teachers with both high and low value-added estimates. Researchers Chetty, Friedman, and Rockoff tracked math and reading assessment data on over 2.5 million students from 1989-2009. They then incorporated 90% of these [...]

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Promises, (over)promises

Vincent Talucci
Vincent Talucci|March 23, 2012

As public safety officials leaf through their favorite criminal justice periodical they are greeted with pages and pages of analytics advertisements. These ads are laden with promises of robust and scalable solutions, improved efficiencies and, yes, the promise of prediction. While reading the advertisements, the mental conversation may go something [...]

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Fallen interstate sign shows importance of asset management

Melissa Savage
Melissa Savage|March 15, 2012

A few weeks ago, in Northern Virginia, a 30 foot highway sign fell onto I-66 and landed on a passing pickup truck.  Fortunately, no one was hurt, but it drew media attention and caused motorists in the area to wonder about the safety of other signs and the transportation network [...]

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SAS Curriculum Pathways and the path to Common Core success

Nadja Young
Nadja Young|February 20, 2012

Teachers have more than enough to juggle each day, lacking the time to search for, and find, high-quality curricular resources online. When I would search for lesson plan supplements, I would often get lost in Google’s abyss of results, spending far too much precious time sifting through mediocre materials. Until [...]

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Analytics helping transportation officials get the job done in tight financial times

Melissa Savage
Melissa Savage|February 9, 2012

The American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials recently released a top 10 list of transportation issues that will be “talked, written or tweeted and legislated about” in 2012.   As expected, funding constraints and Congressional action on reauthorization appear on the list but the group also notes that natural disaster [...]

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Predictive policing is passé

Vincent Talucci
Vincent Talucci|February 2, 2012

My colleague, Steve Serrao, just published a blog post on the proliferation of varied law enforcement approaches and their related phraseologies. After reading, I concur – hence, this blog’s title. I am not a huge fan of the term “predictive policing”. While others may love it and live it, and [...]

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Local government impact of rising group medical and insurance costs, and what can be done

Bill Coleman
Bill Coleman|January 24, 2012

The single most costly employee benefit for any organization is health insurance, and the price is going up. From 2003-2009, the costs per hour worked for employee health insurance increased from $1.03 to $2.00. These costs continue to increase from 5%-7% per year. The reality is that employee health insurance costs will continue [...]

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