When Center Point-Urbana Community School District set out to rethink how they supported students, the leadership team knew they needed practical insights to better understand student academic growth and opportunities to improve instruction and interventions.

Located in Iowa, the district serves a predominantly rural, middle-class community with four schools serving students from pre-kindergarten through high school. Like many districts, it needed a smarter solution for identifying students who needed intervention, supporting diverse learning needs and evaluating core instructional practices.

Melissa Hocking, the district’s Director of School Improvement and Special Services, put it simply: “We were really looking at something that would give us information about student growth in a usable way. And, finally, here it was.”

That “something” was SAS® Education Visualization and Analytics Solution (EVAAS).

This is the first blog in a series about how schools are using EVAAS to improve academic success.

A new approach to supporting students

Before EVAAS, educators relied on limited data points that often came too late to make timely adjustments. District leadership noticed that:

• High school mathematics had emerged as a priority area needing targeted intervention and enhanced instructional strategies to close performance gaps.
• They needed to evaluate their core instructional practices to help teachers address learning gaps before they widened.

So, when the opportunity came to use EVAAS, Center Point-Urbana seized it.

How EVAAS made the difference

• Spotting students who need support early: The district used EVAAS’ student projection reports to identify students at risk of falling behind – those with less than a 50% chance of meeting proficiency – so teachers could step in sooner with targeted intervention.
• Unlocking the potential of high achievers: The data also revealed when high-achieving students with untapped potential stopped growing as expected, helping educators provide the right challenges to keep them progressing.
• Turning data into action: EVAAS’ comprehensive data analytics now drives the district’s Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), where teachers meet weekly to review measurable improvements in teaching practices and student outcomes.

From data to results

The impact of EVAAS was quickly felt in classrooms across the district:

• Core instruction improved: Teachers used the insights to refine lessons, ensuring students fully grasp new concepts and develop their skills to be successful throughout their academic pathway to graduation and beyond.
• Math scores gained ground: High school mathematics scores showed measurable improvement through consistent progress monitoring. The district anticipates an increase in students achieving proficiency on state examinations.
• Collaboration deepened: Teachers and instructional coaches collaborated more closely, leading to a more cohesive and strategic approach in addressing student needs across all grade levels.

The power of practical insights

Through SAS® EVAAS’ student projection reports, diagnostic analytics and academic growth trend capabilities, Center Point-Urbana is making progress toward significant improvements in student interventions, higher achievement and learning growth.

“Our mentality is, we've got to find every single kid that could be flying under the radar,” Hocking emphasizes. "EVAAS makes student data understandable and actionable. So, jump in. Start small, even if it's just [using]projections. You're drilling down kid by kid, skill by skill and that's where those projections are so huge.”

Looking toward the future, the district will continue to maximize EVAAS potential by refining instructional methodologies and empowering data-driven innovation through its PLCs.

Learn more about EVAAS