Introduction
South Carolina’s data journey began with a local challenge: student rostering. Districts were spending too much time managing systems and formatting data just to get students into the right classes and tools, a burden that fell especially hard on smaller districts. While rostering is usually handled locally, state leaders saw an opportunity to solve a common problem once – at scale – and ease the load for everyone.
The South Carolina Department of Education built a shared solution that reduced duplication, improved accuracy, and let local teams focus more on students. That early win laid the groundwork for a statewide, real-time data system built on the Ed-Fi Data Standard. A dedicated team of state staff and district leaders now oversees how data is shared, protected, and used to drive action.
What started with rostering has become a system that meets daily needs in schools while advancing state goals like simpler reporting, stronger transparency, and better decision-making. Educators get timely insights, families get clearer information, and everyone is working from the same trusted data.
Challenge
Before this work began, South Carolina’s data systems were fragmented and outdated. Schools struggled to access the information they needed, when they needed it. Key challenges included:
- Disconnected systems made managing student data time-consuming and complex
- State reports relied on outdated data, sometimes delayed by up to two years
- Smaller districts lacked the staff and resources to keep up
These gaps made it harder for educators to support students and for the state to make timely, informed decisions.
Goals
South Carolina set out to build a smarter, more connected data system that worked for everyone – from the classroom to the Capitol. The goals were to:
- Lighten the load on districts by creating shared tools that removed technical barriers, especially for smaller teams
- Build long-term trust by establishing a cross-agency team comprised of district leaders to oversee how the state collects, protects, and uses the data.
- Enable faster action by making real-time data available to educators and decision-makers
- Promote collaboration beyond state lines by using open-source tools that other states could adopt and improve together
Implementation Process
Starting Small, Building Big Impact
South Carolina began with a single challenge – student rostering. Instead of overhauling everything at once, the state focused on solving one real problem districts were already struggling with. That early win built trust and momentum. From there, the system expanded to cover key areas like early learning, special education (IEPs), test scores, and college and career readiness – proving small steps can lead to lasting, statewide change.
Building Trust and Transparency
To ensure schools trusted how data would be used, South Carolina formed the District Data Governance (DDG) team – a group of district leaders who provide feedback, guide decisions, and help ensure the state’s data system meets local needs. This approach gave districts a real voice in the process and ensured the system was built with transparency, purpose, and mutual trust from the start.
Collaborating Across States to Go Further, Faster
South Carolina partnered with five other states – North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Delaware – to form the Ed-Tech Collaboratory. Together, they build open-source tools that can be adapted across contexts, saving time and resources by developing solutions once and sharing them widely.
Results
Real-time updates: Changes made in local school data systems now show up in other tools statewide within 24 hours, giving educators and decision-makers timely, actionable insights.District-focused growth: New features are added based on what schools say they need most – from early childhood data to IEPs, teacher preparation, and finance. Shared tools: Other states are now using open-source tools developed in partnership with Education Analytics, extending the impact and lowering costs through shared investment.
Success Factors
- Built with districts, not for them: The system evolved in direct response to local priorities – not state mandates.
- Flexible, scalable tech: Designed to work even in small districts with limited technical staff or infrastructure.
- Momentum from early wins: Tangible benefits for teachers and administrators built early trust and buy-in.
- Partnerships that moved things faster: Support from national and local foundations and partnerships with neighboring states accelerated progress.
- Clear value for vendors: Aligning with the Ed-Fi Data Standard helped vendors integrate more easily and encouraged broader adoption.
Use Cases
- Early Childhood: Integrated preschool data gives educators a more complete picture of young students’ needs.
- IEP System: A modern, centralized platform streamlines how special education services are tracked and delivered.
- College and Career Readiness Tool: Platform providing information on student perceptions, academic progress, and other relevant factors, allowing educators to support students success.
- Historical Test Data: Access to years of past test results supports long-term planning and more personalized instruction.
- Teacher Prep Programs: New tools show how well teacher training programs align with classroom needs.
- Real-Time Alerts: Automatic notifications for events – such as course drops – reach counselors within 24 hours so they can respond quickly.
Lessons Learned
- Listen first, build second – Regular feedback ensured each feature solved a real problem and kept districts engaged.
- Make it easy for vendors to say yes – The Ed-Fi Data Standard created a clear path for smoother integrations. Making it a requirement for reporting helped speed up adoption.
- Keep governance independent – Creating a team outside the state agency helped ensure continuity, even during leadership changes.
- Share the lift, share the savings – Collaborating with Education Analytics and other partners made it possible to build better tools, for less.
Conclusion
South Carolina didn’t start with a perfect plan – it started with listening. By tackling real district challenges and earning trust along the way, the state built a data system that works in the real world.
Today, that system supports smarter decisions at every level – helping educators in the classroom and leaders across the state. From preschool to graduation, and from daily attendance to long-term planning, the impact is already clear.
