Case Study: Arkansas Department of Education achieves real-time, data-driven student insights with PowerSchool eFinancePlus

Arkansas Department of Education Illuminates Opportunities for Student Achievement Through a Data Center Fueled by PowerSchool

The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) launched the ADE Data Center in 2009 to give educators, policymakers, parents, and school leaders a single, secure place for statewide education data across 262 districts and 24 charter schools serving ~475,000 students. ADE faced challenges creating reliable, line‑item budgets before the fiscal year, lacked clarity around spending, and needed a sustainable, centralized system to inform policy, support educators, and protect confidential student data.

ADE standardized on PowerSchool Unified Administration eFinancePlus as a primary source system and built a data warehouse with IBM Cognos reporting, a published data dictionary, and stakeholder-driven design. As a result, HR and budgeting data are collected automatically year‑round, final budgets flow between systems for greater transparency, taxpayer dollars are properly allocated, and educators gain near‑real‑time access to attendance, discipline, and assessment data — with ongoing innovations such as continuously updated accreditation snapshots.

Arkansas Department of Education

Cody Decker

Assistant Commissioner and Chief Information Officer, Division of Research and Technology